Professors Flamel
by Aylin Penrose
Summary: When Nicolas Flamel approaches Dumbledore for assistance in keeping the Philosopher's Stone out of Voldemort's grasp, he makes a deal with the venerable wizard to take Harry in as his next apprentice. How will this decision affect not just Harry, but the future of the wizarding world as well?
1. The Agreement

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **A/N:** All right guys and gals, I have accepted a challenge from the awesome **Draynuy** and though it has taken me far too long, I am finally ready to upload the first chapter. Just a heads up, this is my first ever story and the chapter uploads may be a bit erratic but I am hoping to get at least one chapter up every 2 weeks or so. This story will cover all 7 years but I will be uploading each year separately to make things easier. Ok ok, enough chit chat. Lets do this!

 **A/N 2:** A reviewer made a good point about putting the challenge right before the first chapter and how it can turn people away from wanting to read further so I have moved the challenge information to my profile for anybody who would like to read it :). For those that choose not to, be warned that this story will eventually involve a Harry/Luna pairing.

* * *

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stood majestically under the blazing June sunshine as wisps of clouds passed lazily overhead. Her many towers and turrets jutted into the bright blue sky and her massive oak front doors were currently opened wide, giving her students unhindered access to the sloping lawns on which she rested. Laughter and quiet conversations could be heard from the groups of students relaxing around the lake and under the occasional tree, trying to find shelter and a cool breeze to relieve them of the heat the suns rays brought. There was the unmistakable feeling of laziness and excitement permeating the air as the students celebrated the end of the school year, the only dark spot being that they would have to wait another week before they could board the Hogwarts Express to go home.

Nicolas Flamel was oblivious to all of this as he walked up the dirt road from the village of Hogsmeade and through Hogwarts gates. Lost in his own thoughts, he made it to the steps of the front door and nearly passed right by Rubeus Hagrid, who had been alerted to his arrival by Dumbledore, without noticing him, which was quite a feat considering his size.

"Mr. Flamel," Hagrid's voice boomed, startling Nick from of his musings, "Professor Dumbledore sent a message down ter let me know yer here and teh ask me ter escort yeh to his office. I'm Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts Gamekeeper."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Hagrid, please feel free to call me Nick." He said, holding his hand out to shake.

Hagrid's hand engulfed half his arm as they greeted each other. "Just Hagrid is fine. If you'll follow me I'll take yeh up ter see the Headmaster." He said as he led him up the stairs and into the Entrance Hall of the castle. "This yer first time at Hogwarts?"

"No, I have been here a few times in the past. It has expanded quite significantly from the first time I was here though." Nick replied looking around at all the paintings adorning the walls as they waited for the staircase leading to the second floor to move back into position.

"Really now! And when was tha'?"

Nick cocked his head to the side as he tried to think back, it was difficult to remember specific events at times. "Let's see, that would have been the first time Nell and I found ourselves in the United Kingdom which would have been around 1410 I believe. Dame Phyllida Spore was Headmistress back in those days and she was kind enough to invite us to Hogwarts and give us a tour when we showed an interest. She even signed a copy of Nell's One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, which she is quite proud of."

Hagrid stopped and gaped. He had known that Nick and his wife Perenelle were old but it hadn't quite seemed so real until that moment, when Nick spoke so nonchalantly about meeting someone who had died over 500 years ago. Nick waited patiently as Hagrid pulled himself together with a shake and as they continued down the left hand corridor of the third floor he could have sworn he heard Hagrid mutter, "Gallopin' gorgons".

They arrived in front of the large stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to the Headmaster's office before Hagrid could ask any more questions and Nick gave a small smile when Hagrid stood straight and in a no nonsense voice stated simply, "Bonbons." As the gargoyle leapt aside Hagrid turned and thrust out his hand, "It was nice meetin' yeh Nick, hope to see yeh again sometime."

"Same to you Hagrid and thank you for escorting me," Nick replied as he shook the giants hand once more then turned to step onto the moving spiral staircase, "Have a good rest of your day."

"You too."

The gargoyle positioned itself back in front of the entrance as Nick made his ascent, which was a bit longer than he remembered from the last time, and began going over the two topics he needed to address with his former partner. The most urgent was of course the safety of the stone but he also intended to discuss the young Potter boy who, Nell had kindly reminded him, would be starting his first year this coming September and he would not allow Albus to hide him away any longer. He had promised Lily that he would take Harry on as an apprentice and he intended to keep that promise, no matter what.

The staircase finally stopped at the landing leading to an oak door with a griffin shaped knocker but before he could even lift his hand to use it, there was a muffled, "Come in," from within.

Nick turned the knob and stepped into the room and as he took in the many instruments of varying sizes and the books scattered about, Dumbledore greeted him from behind his massive mahogany desk, "Ah Nicolas, how very nice to see you again."

"You as well Albus, it has been far too long," Nick stated as he completely ignored the portraits of the previous Headmasters and Headmistresses and went over to one of the silver instruments that was humming softly and picked it up to examine it.

Being quite used to his old mentors inquisitiveness Dumbledore paid no mind as Nick sated his curiosity, "Indeed it has my old friend. Would you care for some tea or a lemon drop?"

"I would love some tea, thank you," Nick said, placing the instrument back down gently and going to make himself comfortable in a very nice squishy armchair across from Dumbledore and taking the tea offered to him.

"Not that I don't enjoy seeing you but may I enquire as to why you have sought me out after all this time? You sounded rather agitated in the letter I received yesterday."

"Well… I must admit, I have found myself in a rather troubling situation as of late." Nick shifted in his seat and set his cup down.

"Oh?" Dumbledore leaned forward slightly, beyond interested now.

"Yes, I believe someone may be after the stone."

Dumbledore paled significantly at hearing this. "Are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be," Nick messaged the back of his neck as he began his explanation, "They have attempted to breach the wards twice already using some rather advanced dark magic and though we do have a lot of things we have accumulated over the years in the cottage, the stone is the only thing worth going through all the trouble for. Now Nell's wards are works of art, but even they won't be able to hold against repeated attempts such as what we encountered last night so I took the stone to Gringotts before coming here and put it in a high security vault. However, I would rather not risk leaving it there for very long."

Dumbledore stroked his beard absently as he sat back and thought on the dilemma his friend had brought before him. "What if we were to bring it here for safekeeping?"

"I'm not sure placing it in Hogwarts would be the wisest choice." Nick replied with a frown.

"Where else would you suggest we put it Nicolas? Save Gringotts, which you don't seem at all inclined to trust the stones safety to for a prolonged period of time, Hogwarts is the safest place in Europe," Dumbledore countered.

"You are right of course, but wouldn't hiding it here put the children and the staff in danger? I can tell you now Albus, eternity wouldn't be nearly long enough for me to even begin to forgive myself if a child were to come to harm because of such a folly."

"I am confident that we could come up with security measures to ensure both the stone and the students safety."

Flamel sat back to ponder his former partner's suggestion but after long moments still felt that it would be too dangerous and shook his head with a weary sigh.

"Then what would you suggest old friend?"

"I came here looking for a possible solution but you have made me realize that there may be only one course left to us now," Nick seemed to lose himself within his own thoughts as he stared unseeing out of the window. Dumbledore was initially set on allowing him his respite but his curiosity got the better of him much sooner than he would care to admit.

"And what course is that?" He asked softly, anxiety washing over him before he even heard the answer.

"It might be best if it was simply destroyed. We cannot allow it to fall into the wrong hands." Nick stated resignedly. He wasn't sure he was really ready to take such measures but if they could not come up with a safe way to hide the stone then he would speak with Nell on the subject and get her opinion. They could save enough of the elixir to ensure he kept his promise to Lily and once he was certain his apprentice could continue on without him, they could simply pass on.

"Are you sure? There is still so much you both could do…"

"So much **he** could do if he were to get his hands on it," Flamel declared and smiled slightly as Dumbledore stared at him incredulously, "Oh don't look at me like that, we know full well who is attempting to abscond with the stone."

"Whatever do you mean?"

Nick's magic surged within him and though he spoke in but a whisper, his words reverberated around the room and shook Albus to his core. "Don't toy with me Albus. Do you really think that we have missed the signs? Mars is steadily getting brighter, he is preparing for a war and…" He sagged his shoulders and sighed again, "and I fear, he may get his wish before the end."

A feeling of such unrelenting dread passed through Dumbledore that he physically seemed to wilt and fold in on himself.

"That's right you young fool," Nick said softly, "We have both known for quite some time that Voldemort was still alive, biding his time until he could return."

"You seem so certain." Dumbledore whispered resignedly as he reached for one of his ever present lemon drops to try and comfort himself with their familiar sweet and sour goodness.

Nick waved his hand in front of his face as if to banish the silliness of the statement," We are not all as foolish as you seem to think. Nell has heard endless whisperings during her monthly scrying sessions since that night, not to mention the fact that I can hardly gaze at the heavens without seeing whats to come written in the stars themselves.

"I am afraid you are right," He paused to take off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling his advanced age like never before, "For years I have dreaded the day he would return and even knowing it will happen, I still feel wholly unprepared."

"As well you should Albus. If we thought he was bad before, just wait until he shows up again. It took time the last go round, time for him to gain the power he needed, for the fear to spread and set in, but this time he'll have a much easier time of it. Many of his followers are currently out there, going about their normal everyday lives, just waiting for him to return and all they'll need is a whisper, any sign that shows that he is back and they won't hesitate to rejoin him. The Ministry really did the British magical community a great disservice when they allowed those Death Eaters to go free."

"I'm quite aware of the Ministries failings Nicolas, I did my best to push for trials for all those we believed to be Death Eaters at the end of the war but I was thwarted at every turn."

"I know Albus, I did not mean to place blame on you for their idiocy and I honestly don't see how you can stand working for them the way you do. I probably would have blown the place up by now… by accident of course, experiment gone wrong. You know how those things go sometimes." Nick joked, trying to lighten the somber mood a bit.

Dumbeldore's mouth quirked up into a small smile. "Indeed I do." He agreed. "Now, perhaps we can refocus on what to do about our current dilemma and revisit the looming threat at another time. Even if you would have enough elixir for a few more years, I would really rather not see you have to resort to destroying the stone."

Nick nodded and went about refilling both of their teas, "Have you thought of a safe way for us to hide it then?"

"We could secure it within one of Hogwarts' hidden chambers and set some sort of traps." Dumbledore proposed thoughtfully.

"What kind of traps are we talking about?"

"That would depend really. I was thinking I could ask a few of the Professors about setting up their own unique trap, that way none of them would know what the others were doing."

Nick thought on this for a bit, weighing the pros and cons of the idea before shaking his head. "I don't like it Albus. What if a student wandered into one of the traps by accident or the thief is clever enough to not only get into Hogwarts without alerting anyone but also bypass all of the traps before we are able to apprehend them?" He paused then started mumbling to himself. "What if we… that could work… nobody would know…"

"What is it Nicolas, what have you thought of?"

"I'm thinking of a little misdirection. Maybe if we spread the rumor that I have taken the stone elsewhere while actually hiding it here we may be able to throw the thief off, when in reality, the stone is kept safe here as a secret, hidden in plain sight."

It took Dumbledore a moment to realize just what Nick was referring to but when he did he started chuckling and couldn't stop for some time. "How very devious of you. How exactly would you like to go about it?" He asked eagerly once he was able to get himself under control again.

"Well, Nell can cast the Fidelius itself and, if you are willing, we could make you the secret keeper while housing the stone here in the office or your living quarters. Nell and I are planning to go to Egypt sometime in July to attend the International Warlock Convention so we could visit Gringotts beforehand to make it seem like we are retrieving the stone to take with us but instead, it will remain there to be picked up at a later date and brought here."

"I am honored that you would choose me but are you sure you want me to be the secret keeper?"

Nick nodded and smiled, "You would be the most logical choice Albus. You are more powerful than either of us as well as the most influential and it is doubtful that anyone would be brave enough to attempt to coerce you into revealing the secret. Once we make you the keeper you can share the secret with Nell and I just in case, Merlin forbid, anything were to happen to you we would still be able to retrieve it later."

"It is a good plan my friend and I think that it will work." Dumbledore agreed.

"There is, however, two stipulations that must be met before we can fully agree to hiding the stone here."

There was a barely audible sigh from the younger man, somehow he knew he would both like and dislike whatever he was about to undoubtedly agree to, "Of course, what did you have in mind?"

A slight smirk could be seen on Nick's face before he hid it behind his teacup, "Oh don't be like that Albus, at least one of the conditions will be most beneficial to everybody and the other is somewhat linked to the first."

"As you say, Nicolas, I will wait to pass judgment however, until I have heard what both conditions are."

"Very well, the first is that Nell and I come to Hogwarts to teach. I would like to teach Potions to all seven years as well as an Alchemy elective for N.E.W.T students and since you already have a Charms professor, Nell and I could come in to take a look at the jinx on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. If we are able to get rid of it she can take over there, also for all seven years, and I'm sure she would also want to offer an elective, perhaps Warding or Spell Crafting for N.E.W.T students."

Dumbledore's face lit up at hearing this and he was nodding in acceptance before he even realized it. Having both Flamels coming here to teach was beyond anything he could have imagined Nicolas asking for and the benefits would be immeasurable. He had not received any applications for the vacant Defense Against the Dark Arts position since Professor Reid had outright refused to return after his run in with a rather large cluster of Acromantuala out in the Forbidden Forest back in May. He deflated and shifted a bit at the thought of what to do about Severus but was already thinking up alternative ways of keeping his Potions Master in the castle.

"What's the matter?" Nick asked, having seen the slight hesitation.

"I was just thinking about Severus and what to do with him if he is no longer going to be the Potions professor."

Nick had to force himself not to roll his eyes at that statement, "With all do respect, despite everything he might have done for our side in the war, you should never have allowed him to teach children. He has done more harm than good these past years."

Dumbledore bristled slightly, "And what do you mean by that exactly?"

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. The number of students that graduate to pursue careers as Healers and Aurors has dropped significantly since that man began teaching here and its mainly due to his unrealistic expectations of his students as well as the way he teaches and bullies everybody that isn't in his house."

"Severus may be a little rough around the edges but he is a very good teacher."

"Oh come off it Albus, anyone who has ever spoken to him about the subject can see just how much he hates teaching, especially children, yet you continue to make excuses for him. He would be much better off simply making and creating his own potions someplace where people wouldn't bother him and you know it."

Dumbledore did know this, but he also knew that Severus would need to stay near him for when Voldemort returned to continue his role as a double agent. "Yes well, I would rather not just throw him out of the castle. He deserves better than that."

Nick did roll his eyes this time, "All right, glossing over the fact that he is a grown man and can take care of himself, why don't you have him brew potions for the Hospital Wing and any excess could be sold to St. Mungo's. He could still have his own quarters with a potions lab and he could even take personal orders through owl post in his down time."

"That is a very good idea Nicolas, I think he would actually prefer it a great deal more than teaching," Dumbledore agreed and he felt remarkably better about having such a proposal to offer Severus when he let him know he would not be renewing his professorship.

"Good," Nick exclaimed, "now onto the second condition. Since he will be starting at Hogwarts this year, Nell and I want to meet Harry beforehand so that we can get to know him a little better and I can gauge how best to prepare him to become my apprentice when he is older. Being his Potions professor and having Minerva McGonagall as his Transfiguration professor will give him a good grounding in the subject until that time comes but we want to know him on a more personal level."

"I don't think that's such…" Dumbledore began but was cut off.

"I'm going to stop you right there Albus because enough is enough. Nell and I have been after you for ten years about this and we will not take no for an answer any longer."

A dark fire burned in Nick's eyes as he stared Dumbledore down and it became quite clear to the silver haired wizard that he would not be able to dissuade him from his chosen course and knowing that should he continue to try he may very well lose his friend. So, he did the only thing he could do, "I understand Nicolas and I will give you young Harry's address so that you can visit him," he put action to his words as he picked up his quill and a spare piece of parchment and began writing, "I must warn you however, that you may have some difficulty with his relatives, as they aren't the biggest fans of witches and wizards, or magic in general, so it might be rather difficult to convince them to allow you to bring Harry into the Wizarding World more than they think is necessary."

"I'm sure we will be able to work something out," Nick replied taking the piece of parchment that was held out to him, "I know we didn't give you much of a choice Albus but thank you for letting us do this. Nell will be very excited to finally be able to see Harry again after all these years."

"I have no doubt that she will. I know that she has been rather frustrated with my reluctance to divulge young Harry's whereabouts these past years but please let her know that I had valid reasons for doing so."

"She may be more receptive of your apology if you were to tell us just what those reasons are." Nick ventured. Both he and his wife had tried numerous times to try and weasel the information out of Dumbledore but had had no such luck so far and they were most curious as to what the old wizard was hiding.

Dumbledore's lips twitched, "Though I feel that letting you in on a few secrets might be most beneficial I'm afraid now is not the time. Perhaps at a later date."

"Oh very well then, keep your secrets. I have some other errands to run before heading home so I should be going anyway. I will have Nell owl you to let you know how the meeting with Harry and his relatives goes… the Dursleys correct?" Nick questioned as he scanned the piece of parchment he had been given and continued at the short nod, "As well as to set up a time to come in and take a look into that jinx of yours."

"We will also need to set up a time to hide the stone."

Nick rose from his seat and stretched a bit, "Yes, of course. How about we fetch it from Gringotts and head here straight afterwards to take care of the jinx and the stone all at once?"

"That sounds quite reasonable to me, just let me know ahead of time and I will clear my schedule." Dumbledore responded, getting up from his own seat and walking around his desk to bid farewell to his oldest friend.

"I will see you soon Albus and thanks for everything." Nick said, shaking his hand and grabbing a lemon drop before turning to leave.

"You're welcome Nicolas and say hello to Perenelle for me."

Nick gave a wave as he closed the door and began his descent down the spiral staircase, already lost in thought once again. He was rather pleased with himself at finally getting Albus to give up Harry's whereabouts and couldn't wait to tell Nell the news. He could remember the few times that Lily and James would ask them to babysit while they went off to do something for the Order and their friends joined them, how happy Nell had been while holding and playing with the toddler. He hadn't seen that spark in her eyes since before their adoptive daughter Julia had passed away at the tender age of eight. So it was rather understandable that she had been quite upset when they found out that Albus had taken Harry to live with his muggle relatives and then refused to allow them to even visit him.

He gave himself a shake as he made his way back down the dirt road towards Hogsmeade and focused on the errands he needed to get done before he could go home to plan with Nell just how they were going to go about persuading these Dursleys into letting them take Harry to Egypt with them. An anticipatory smile spread across his face, it had been far too long since he had taken on a proper apprentice and he was beyond excited to see what the future had in store for them.


	2. The Flamels VS The Dursleys

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **A/N:** I will be putting a previous chapter summary at the top of each new chapter from here on out. Mostly because I just feel like it but also because I think it will help people to know whats going on so they don't have to read the previous chapter to try and remember what the heck is going on. Read it or not, it's totally up to you.

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Nick seeks Dumbledore's help after there are repeated attempts to steal the Philospher's Stone from his home. After deciding on a course of action to keep the stone safe, Nick tells Dumbledore that there are two stipulations that must be met before he would fully agree to hiding the stone at Hogwarts. In the end, Dumbledore has no choice but to allow both Nick and Nell to teach at Hogwarts as well as to meet with Harry Potter before he starts his first year to help teach him what he needs to know about the magical world.

* * *

It was now July 12th and Nick stood with Nell beside him as they gazed at the house before them on Privet Drive. It was a nice house, if not so very plain, but there was something missing from it. As he looked up and down the street at all of the other identical houses with their near identical cars and shrubbery he realized what it was. To him, what made a house a home is its distinct individuality from other houses, how it slowly but surely takes on a reflection of those that inhabit it, but he saw nothing to distinguish this house from the next, other than the fact that it bore the number 4 beside its door. Both Flamels gave a slight shudder of disgust that they didn't quite understand and proceeded up the walkway.

After ringing the doorbell they waited somewhat anxiously for it to be answered. They had spoken often over the years about taking young Harry into their home and raising him but Albus had kept putting them off, telling them that he was in a safe place and being taken care of by family. Neither Flamel really liked the vague answers and misdirections Albus had been tossing around when they tried to get more out of him but, with nothing to bargain with, they weren't really in a position to push the issue.

Now that they had gotten the go ahead, they were planning on speaking with Harry's relatives about allowing them to take him in for the rest of the summer to get him better acquainted with the magical world before school started and then, if he was ok with it, becoming his magical guardians for while he was attending Hogwarts. They figured that since Harry's aunt and uncle were rather hesitant about magic and probably did not care to visit their world, he may be lacking in some areas in regards to it and wished to remedy that. As Nell shifted slightly in anticipation they heard a shout from within that made them both look at each other and scowl.

"Boy, get the door, now!"

There was quiet again for a few seconds before they heard the unmistakable signs of someone unlocking a deadbolt and then the door opened wide. A small boy stood before them, encased in clothes that were several times too big for him and wearing round rimmed glasses that seemed to be kept together with massive amounts of tape. Though he was a bit shorter and skinnier than an average almost 11 year old should be, there was no doubt in either Flamels mind that this was Harry Potter. If James' signature untidy black hair didn't give it away then Lily's sparkling emerald green eyes, that were now looking up at them with mild curiosity, certainly did.

"Hello. May I help you?" He asked politely while attempting to pull up the shirt that had slid down off his shoulder.

"Yes, my name is Nicolas Flamel and this is my wife Perenelle. We would like to speak with a Mr. and Mrs. Dursley please." Nick said after a slight pause and gave the lad a warm smile.

Harry was indeed quite curious about the couple standing before him. The man looked to be in his early 40's with light brown hair that, though cropped short, stuck out every which way of its own accord, hazel eyes that almost appeared golden in the sunlight and very prominent laugh lines. He wore a crisp white dress shirt that was tucked neatly into his black trousers with what looked to be rather expensive dress shoes. The woman seemed to be a few years younger and had long dark auburn hair that was pinned back and fell in cascading waves behind her, electric blue eyes, and an affectionate smile that Harry didn't really understand but couldn't help returning with a small smile of his own. She wore a navy blue dress that clung to her down to the waist and then flowed freely all the way to the ground with sleeves that ended just below her elbows and a cream colored silk ribbon tied into a bow around her midriff. Harry had to admit that, while the woman was very pretty, they both looked quite ordinary, yet, there was something strange about them that he couldn't seem to place.

He was brought out of his musings with a yell from Uncle Vernon. "Well, who is it?"

Harry started and then mumbled an apology as he felt his face heat up in embarrassment upon realizing that he had been staring at the two. "It's a Mr. and Mrs. Flamel, they came to speak with you and Aunt Petunia." He shouted slightly over his shoulder so as to be heard in the living room.

He heard his Uncle getting up out of his chair muttering profusely to himself and just as he came around the corner, Aunt Petunia bustled through the kitchen door while running her hands down her dress to smooth out any non existent wrinkles. Harry stepped to the side as they approached the doorway to give them room and was just able to catch the look of approval that flashed across his Aunts face as she sized up their visitors.

Uncle Vernon stepped forward extending his hand to Mr. Flamel and said with polite superiority. "Hello, I'm Vernon Dursley and this is my wife Petunia."

Handshakes were given all around as Nick introduced himself and Nell again after which Uncle Vernon turned towards Harry and barked. "Go into the kitchen and look after the dinner."

Before Harry could even make a move Nell stepped forward slightly. "Actually Mr. Dursley, we were hoping Harry could be included, what we have to discuss concerns him just as much as you."

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia gave her suspicious glares. In their opinion, anybody who would want to speak to or about Harry had to be trouble. "And what is it you want to speak to us about?"

"Such things are best discussed in private I think. May we come in?" Though it was phrased as a question, there was little doubt in anyones mind that her request would be denied.

Aunt Petunia must have realized what this might look like to the neighbors because she looked around hurriedly and then snapped. "Let them in Vernon before somebody notices."

He grudgingly stepped to the side to let them in as Aunt Petunia turned around to lead them into the living room. "Well, go on then." He growled and gave Harry a shove after closing the door behind them.

"Would you like some tea?" Aunt Petunia asked, ever the hostess, as she gestured for them to sit on the couch and then sat across from them on the love seat next to Uncle Vernon's chair. Harry stayed near the doorway and off to the side to try and draw as little attention to himself as possible.

"No thank you, we're fine." Nell said as she looked around the room, noticing that not one of the many pictures adorning the walls and surfaces were of Harry.

"Well then, what did—" Uncle Vernon was interrupted by the arrival of Dudley and his ever present Smelting's cane.

"Who was at the door?"

"A Mr. and Mrs. Flamel here to talk about the boy. This is our son Dudley," Aunt Petunia beamed with pride at her son as she introduced him, "Why don't you come and sit next to mummy Popkin." Dudley eyed the two visitors with interest as he made his way over to his mother, whacking Harry in the shin with his cane as he passed.

After a look of disapproval thrown at the large boy, Nell turned towards Harry. "Harry dear, would you like to sit down as well? There is plenty of room here on the couch."

It was a simple question but it was said with such sincerity and kindness that it momentarily threw Harry off balance. So much so, that he was sitting down next to the lovely Mrs. Flamel before he even registered that he had, in fact, moved. Never before had Harry been spoken to like that, especially by an adult, and some of the trepidation that he had been feeling about this meeting left him.

When he looked across from him, Harry could see a look of disgust mingled with anger written across his Uncle's face. All trace of niceties were immediately thrown out the window. "What is it you want to talk about? We haven't got all night you know."

Nick spoke up, leaning forward slightly to rest his elbows on his knees. "Well, we wanted to speak to you about Harry attending Hogwarts this coming September. We were—"

Uncle Vernon was on his feet in a flash, face as red as a tomato, and shaking with unbridled rage. "Out! Get out of my house!"

Aunt Petunia, who had gone very pale, let out a slight squeak and gripped the arm of the love seat tightly. Dudley looked deeply confused but Harry wasn't sure if it was in response to his parent's sudden change in behavior or not, since he always looked that way.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said get out, I don't want any more of you freaks in my home!"

Harry had never seen his Uncle so upset before and he had no idea what Hogwarts was or what was going on or who these people even were, but he had the unmistakable feeling that he didn't want them to leave. He was trying to figure out how to convey this without drawing his Uncle's anger onto him when Nick spoke again.

"That is quite enough of that Mr. Dursley." He didn't stand to confront Uncle Vernon, he didn't even raise his voice, but Uncle Vernon went quiet none the less.

A long silence followed and Harry's curiosity finally got the best of him. "Um, what's Hogwarts? I thought I was going to Stonewall next year."

"What's Hogwarts?" Nell repeated softly, turning towards Harry slightly with a look of shock as Uncle Vernon started up again.

"You are going to Stonewall boy, and you'll be grateful for it."

Nick and Nell had had just about enough of these people, and they hadn't even been in their presence for more than five minutes. Originally, they had wanted to present their plans to both Harry and the Dursleys and allow them a few days to talk and think it over before making a decision, but now, they simply wanted to take the child away from here and never look back. The contrast between Harry and his cousin and how each was treated told them that there was something seriously wrong here.

When Harry asked what Hogwarts was, neither Flamel knew quite what to say. They had anticipated needing to explain the more complicated aspects of the magical world, like floo travel or how to interact with goblins if you wanted to stay on their good side but never were they expecting that he wouldn't even know about Hogwarts. It was clear from their behavior that Mr. and Mrs. Dursley disliked magic a great deal more than Albus had let on, even going so far as to call them freaks, and there was no telling what they may or may not have told Harry about their world. The very thought of them telling him nothing of magic was very troublesome as that would mean they would need to take a more delicate approach when explaining things so as not to frighten or overwhelm him.

Deciding to start from the beginning to gauge just how in the dark he possibly was, Nell turned towards Harry completely, ignoring the large man standing before her, and lay a hand gently on his shoulder. "Harry, what do you know about your parents?"

There was a pause as a look of confusion passed across his face. "Well, just that my dad was unemployed, a drunk and that both he and my mum died in a car crash."

Nell had never been so angry in her life. That these people would treat the memory of two great friends and heroes with such disrespect was unforgivable. She had met Lily when she was 16 while shopping in Diagon Alley and they had bonded quite spectacularly over their love of Charms and spell crafting. It wasn't long after they had met that she had introduced the bright young girl to Nick, who had taken an instant liking to her, which was a pleasant surprise, since he could be so fickle when it came to other people sometimes. Through Lily, they had eventually met James, who took some getting used to but was eventually regarded as a close friend as well.

Time can be a difficult thing, especially for those that have seen so much of it passing them by, that they don't realize just how much they might be missing. Months, years, and sometimes even decades seemed to run together and pass by both Flamels before they would think to pay more attention to the things going on around them. And so, it wasn't until about 5 years after they had all met that Nick finally decided to ask Lily about becoming his apprentice. Of course by that time the war was at its peak, Harry had just turned 1, and there were whispers that Voldemort was after the Potters. When they spoke about going into hiding both Flamels had a feeling that they would never see their young friends again and they must have felt the same because Lily made Nick promise that, if anything did happen to them, he would take Harry on to be his apprentice instead, once he was old enough.

After being told about the attack at Godric's Hollow, both were devastated yet thankful at the same time. They had lost two of the best people they had ever had the pleasure of knowing in their long lives but at least their friends could rest in peace knowing that their son was alive and well. They would no doubt be turning in their graves if they knew where he had ended up.

At Harry's admission, Nell stiffened and the hand on his shoulder tightened before she turned an enraged glare towards his Aunt. "How could you?"

Nick had noticed that Mr. Dursley had been about to start shouting again but the shear venom and anger in his wife's voice stopped him cold. "After everything they did for our world, everything they did for Harry, how could you even bring yourself to lie to him about them like that?"

Harry was somewhat ashamed at the scant knowledge he had about his parents, though it was difficult to find anything out when you weren't allowed to ask questions and your relatives refused to speak on the subject even when you did, he still felt that he should know more. When Mrs. Flamel's grip tightened on his shoulder he had thought that she was angry at him for his lack of knowledge but looking up and seeing her glare pinned on his Aunt he let out a slight sigh of relief. Somehow, he knew that only a fool would want to cross paths with this woman.

With his next outburst, Uncle Vernon confirmed Harry's long held belief that he was, in fact, a fool, "Like it matters, they were just good for nothing weirdos and the world is better off without them in our opinion, if only they could have taken their freak of a son with them and saved us all this trouble."

The silence that followed that statement was so absolute that you could undoubtedly hear a pin drop 5 miles away. Nick and Nell could not believe that such people could have been entrusted with Harry's care for all these years and Harry still come out as the seemingly sweet young man sitting beside them, who seemed quite nonplussed about what his own Uncle had just said about him, as if this wasn't the first time he had heard it.

With the realization that this was probably true, Nell's anger broke and she shot out of her seat to face down one of the most loathsome people she had ever encountered. She could feel her power sizzling just below the surface, waiting to be unleashed, but didn't want to lose control for fear of frightening Harry. She did however allow some of it to flow into her eyes, causing them to glow slightly, which only the Dursleys could see, and caused all three to flinch and shrink back.

"Now you listen here you filthy excuse for a human being, I will not tolerate you speaking about Harry, James, or Lily like that again in our presence. Do I make myself clear?" The Dursleys could only nod their heads at the steel in her voice. "Now, we came here in the hopes of working with you on what would be best for Harry attending Hogwarts but now it seems that we have some explanations for him before he decides whether or not he actually does want to go and you will stay silent while we answer any questions he may have."

"How dare you—"

"That was not a request!" She shouted over Uncle Vernon and he sat back down, face purple with rage, but didn't say another word.

Nell sat back down as well, feeling the calming hand of her husband on her shoulder she leaned back far enough so that Nick could have a good view of Harry, and took a few deep breaths to get her temper under control.

Harry was stunned that his Uncle had just been told off in his own home but he couldn't quite keep the delight of getting to watch it happen off his face. He really was liking these people more and more by the minute and even though he still didn't know what this Hogwarts place was he couldn't think of anything that would make him not want to go.

Since Nell still seemed a bit hot under the collar Nick decided to take over until she was able to calm down somewhat. As kind as she was to those that deserved it, she could tear strips off a dragon in defense of those same people if she believed they needed the protecting. He had always been a laid back person who rarely showed his temper and knew that most people that didn't know them well would think that Nell wore the pants in the relationship but the truth of the matter was that they shared everything equally and complemented each other perfectly.

He leaned forward a bit more and faced Harry, getting the child's attention. "Harry, what my wife and I are about to tell you may seem unbelievable but we would like you to bare with us while we try to explain as best we can alright?"

"Ok, I'll try not to ask too many questions." Harry said softly and sat forward slightly in anticipation of possibly getting to know more about his parents.

Nick chuckled lightly. "Actually, we expect you to have quite a few questions for us and are ready to answer every one of them that we are able to, to the best of our ability."

Harry could only nod his head in understanding at this and waited for Nick to continue.

"Now the first thing we need to get out into the open and is probably going to be the most unbelievable part is that you Harry, are a wizard." He paused for a moment to gauge Harry's reaction to this but he looked too stunned to say anything so he continued. "I myself am a wizard, as was your father while Nell, like your mother, is a witch."

A thousand questions seemed to explode all at once inside Harry's mind as he tried to process this. It really was very unbelievable and if his Aunt and Uncle didn't look like they were about to have a stroke at hearing Mr. Flamel's words then he may even think this was some kind of prank but their reaction was telling enough, as well as the fact that the Dursleys didn't do pranks. "I'm a wizard?"

The words came out in little more than a whisper but Nick heard them loud and clear. "Yes you are Harry. Like Nell and myself, you can do magic."

Despite himself, Harry began to get excited at those words and a small smile slowly formed across his face.

"Up until now, any magic that you would have done was most likely done by mistake at times that you were feeling emotionally charged. We call these occurrences accidental magic because, well, that is exactly what they are, magic that children perform by accident when they get angry or scared and sometimes even when they get excited," He stopped his explanation as a look of understanding flitted across Harry's face, "Do you recall any situations that you couldn't explain at the time but now you think may have actually been accidental magic Harry?"

Harry hesitated for a moment then said softly, "I got upset at my teacher once and turned her wig blue," At Nick's encouraging nod he pressed on, "Then there was that time that Dudley and his friends were chasing me behind the school and I suddenly found myself on top of the roof when I was trying to jump behind some rubbish bins. There are a few others but the most recent was just a few weeks ago when we went to the zoo for Dudley's birthday, I was talking to a boa constrictor when Dudley came up from behind me and shoved me to the ground. The next thing I knew, the glass to the snakes habitat had disappeared and it escaped."

When he saw Nick and Nell's eyes widen he quickly added, "I didn't do it on purpose…" but he stopped when Nell gave him a reassuring smile and pat on the knee.

"We know you wouldn't have done that on purpose Harry, we were more curious about you talking to the snake. Did you mean that you were simply speaking to it like some people do their pets or were you actually conversing with it?"

Harry hesitated again and his eyes darted to Uncle Vernon, remembering how upset he had gotten when Piers had told them he had been talking to the snake. Nick saw this and hurried to assure the young boy. "Harry, no matter what your answer, we will not be angry with you, we are simply curious."

"Well, at first I was just talking to it, not really expecting anything but then it started to respond like it understood me. Right before it disappeared I could have sworn I heard it say that it was headed to Brazil…" What had started out as a somewhat enthusiastic story ended on barely a whisper as Harry realized how stupid he must sound. He gazed up at the Flamels, anticipating looks of disbelief and possibly even anger but he was derailed once again as both simply looked thoughtful.

They looked at each other and after a moment Nick gave his wife a small nod before turning back to him. "It seems that you have the ability to speak Parseltongue, or the language of the serpents. It is a rare ability with quite a history but I think it would be better if we speak more on it later. Lets get back to our previous discussion shall we?"

Harry really would have liked more information on this ability but he nodded his head in agreement anyway.

"Now, we have established that you have had your fair share of accidental magic and though it is usually harmless there are times, like the zoo, when the consequences of the magic done can lead to potentially dangerous situations. It is because of this that once magical children are old enough they must learn to control their magic and the most common way to do this is to attend a magical school. There are several magical schools across the world but the one you will be attending is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which is located in Scotland and is where both of your parents attended."

Nell chose to take over at this point, "And that brings us to the very delicate subject of your parents Harry. Your father was most definitely not unemployed, nor was he a drunk, and they certainly did not die in a car crash," She paused a moment to send a glare at the Dursleys but her gaze softened when she turned to look back at Harry. "They were exceptionally brave individuals and they loved you more than anything in the world, so much so, that they both gave their lives in order to protect you."

Harry saw Nell's eyes tear up and she blinked furiously to keep them from falling and he saw Nick behind her with his head bowed and his hands clasped together firmly. He himself felt like he had a lump in his throat and had to swallow a few times before he could speak, even then his voice sounded rather small and weak, "What happened?"

"About ten years before you were born, a very dark wizard who called himself Lord Voldemort started to rise to power and gather followers to begin a terrible campaign to do away with and enslave those that he deemed unworthy or beneath him. You see Harry, in the Wizarding world there are those that believe themselves above everyone else because they have what is referred to as pure blood, which really just means that they haven't had any non-magical, or muggle as people are fond of calling them here, ancestors for a few generations. Oh, they like to think that none of their ancestors were non-magical but you can always find a few if you trace the family tree back far enough. Anyway, Voldemort gathered many pure-blood families to his cause as well as half-bloods, witches and wizards usually with one magical parent and one non-magical, and attempted to take over the British magical community. While they did manage to take the lives of many witches, wizards, and non-magicals they were not able to gain a foothold in the Ministry of Magic before the war ended quite abruptly in 1981.

"We aren't entirely sure what started it or if it was simply because they were so against him but Voldemort chose to go after you and your parents personally. They eventually went into hiding in early October of 1981 but Voldemort soon found them and on Halloween night he showed up at the cottage where you were all living and attacked," Nell cleared her throat and took a deep breath before continuing, "From the evidence left behind, it looks as if your father attempted to hold Voldemort off while Lily tried to escape with you but she was unable to do so. Once he killed James he went into your nursery where he killed Lily as she was trying to protect you and then he turned his wand on you. It's not completely clear exactly what happened then, Nick and I believe that Lily must have cast some sort of protection spell on you, but when Voldemort tried to kill you his spell rebounded back onto him and destroyed his body. It seems that you were unharmed except for the scar on your forehead, which is where the spell hit." She finished her story and gazed at Harry, wary of his reaction to hearing that his parents had been murdered by a psychopath.

Harry was absolutely speechless, going from believing that your parents had died in a drunken car crash to finding out that they had actually been killed trying to protect him from some dark wizard, it was rather understandable that it took him a moment to recover but once he did he felt both sorrow at the way they had died and great pride for the people they had been.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he jumped slightly when Nell laid her hand on his, "Are you going to be alright Harry?" At his small nod she squeezed his hand gently, "There is more to the story but I think it would be best to wait a bit before we go further into it."

"Yes," Nick spoke up,"I think we should get back to Hogwarts and how we are going to go about getting all of your school supplies. We were going to speak to your relatives," he sent a glare of his own their way, "about becoming your magical guardians while you are at school and helping you with anything you need in regards to magic but it seems we do not see eye to eye on exactly what your future entails."

Uncle Vernon chose that moment to speak up again, "To right you are, we won't allow him to go to any magic school and even if we did, we certainly wouldn't use any of our hard earned money to pay for it."

"There is nothing you can do to stop it as long as Harry wishes to attend. He has had his name down in the Hogwarts register since the day he was born and the Ministry of Magic covers the cost of all Hogwarts student's tuition. Nick and I will of course purchase any school supplies he might need." Nell countered, though she knew that Lily and James would have set up a trust account for Harry with Gringotts that would indeed cover anything he would need until he came into his inheritance at 17 she wasn't sure at this point whether or not the Dursley's aversion to magic would extend to the large amounts of wizarding money Harry owned and so chose not to speak of it.

"If he goes to that freak school he won't be allowed to step foot in this house again. I won't have any of that nonsense around my family!" Uncle Vernon bellowed, spittle flying.

"Well we would be more than happy to adopt him entirely." At this she turned to Harry and gave him a small smile. "That is, if you would like us to Harry, the decision is completely up to you and you will have time to decide."

"You would want me?" Harry asked with a look of bewilderment and not a little bit of hope.

"Of course we would sweetheart. We wouldn't make the offer if we weren't serious about it and we would be delighted for you to become a part of our family." Nell said projecting all of the seriousness and affection she could into the last statement.

"I'd like that too." He blurted without a second thought.

Tears of happiness welled in Nell's eyes as a smile so radiant it put the sun to shame, spread across her face. When Harry looked at Nick he saw a matching smile as he reached across his wife and gave his knee a reassuring squeeze. "You have no idea how much that means to us Harry. It has been a while since we had a child of our own, we would have taken you in when you were a baby but, unfortunately, it was decided that you would be safest here."

Harry's heart swelled at his words and he knew that he had made the right choice. This man and woman had shown him more love and affection in the last 30 minutes than his Aunt and Uncle had in the last 10 years and he couldn't wait to find out what it would be like to be a part of a proper family.

"That settles it then, take him and get out." Uncle Vernon snarled.

"Vernon, what about the wards?" Aunt Petunia asked quietly. Everybody could tell that she wanted Harry gone just as much as Uncle Vernon and was reluctant to mention anything that might force them to keep him.

"Oh, I can answer that for you Mrs. Dursley," Nell stated with great relish, having recognized the blood wards surrounding the house when they walked up, "When we take Harry from here and adopt him, he will no longer consider this place as home, how he even could before now is a complete mystery, and the blood wards that were constructed to protect both him and you, will fall. At that point you really only have two options to choose from, you can take your family and flee or you can stay here to wait and see whether the dark wizards we spoke of decide to come find you. They were quite upset at the fall of their master, you see, and there could be some out there still seeking revenge for it."

Both adults looked justifiably frightened at hearing this but Nick and Nell were way past caring, they had warned them and that was enough to keep their consciences clean should anything unfortunate happen.

"Well I don't think we should take up any more of your time, we will just get Harry's things and be on our way," Nell said and stood. She couldn't wait to be out of this place. "Why don't you show me your room Harry and I'll help you pack."

Harry hesitated a moment then nodded his head and began leading the way towards where he had been forced to sleep for the past ten years while Nick stayed back to watch the Dursleys, who he noticed looked slightly nervous. It wasn't but a few moments later that he heard a strangled cry from Nell and got up swiftly to see what was wrong. Before he could get very far she stormed back into the room with a look of pure fury on her face and headed straight for Petunia Dursley, who had also stood.

"How could any mother treat a child like that?" She fumed and slapped the woman across the face so hard that she fell back onto the love seat. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"

"Now you see here—" Vernon Dursley started and began to get out of his chair but froze as Nell drew her wand with lightning speed and pointed it at him.

"Just give me a reason Dursley and you'll get to find out first hand what it would be like to spend the rest of your life as a toad." She threatened and Nick could tell that she was very close to losing all semblance of control. All three Dursleys were staring at her in horror and Petunia Dursley had tears in her eyes as she cupped her slowly reddening cheek.

Nick stepped forward before any of them could do anything stupid and placed a hand gently over her wand hand, "Come now ma chérie, what has gotten you so upset?"

"They made him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs Nicolas," she snarled and her voice shook with repressed rage, "They even have a lock on the outside of the door and everything."

Nick's hand tightened on hers as he took this in and he glared down at the Dursleys as well. Before he could say anything in response however, Harry came around the corner with a small bag of what looked like clothes and peered at Nell's wand with both fascination and a bit of concern. He turned back to his wife and put gentle pressure on her hand until she lowered it, "As much as I would like to see them pay for their treatment of Harry, I say we let the Children's Welfare Department handle them."

After a moment Nell gave a stiff nod, turned abruptly, and walked towards Harry, "Let's go Harry dear, its getting rather late and we still need to get you settled into a room at our cottage. Is this everything?" She asked in concern and took the small bag from him. At his nod she gave him a reassuring smile, "Well we can go shopping for some proper clothes tomorrow, these look like they would just about fit a baby elephant."

Nick saw Vernon and Petunia Dursley bristle at the dig towards their son, since it was obvious that the clothes had once belonged to him, but they wisely chose not to say anything. As Nell led Harry outside, neither even giving the Dursleys a backward glance, he went to take a look at the cupboard himself, wanting to confirm what his wife had said with his own eyes. The small cot looked quite pathetic in the small space and with all the cleaning supplies on the shelves, there was hardly any room for any personal items. Actually seeing this allowed him to better understand Nell's anger and he had to restrain himself from marching into that room and doing exactly what she had threatened just a few moments before.

He closed the door in disgust, pulled his wand, and cast a locking charm as well as a small ward around the area so that the Dursleys wouldn't be able to destroy the evidence, should someone from the Ministry wish to come and investigate the matter. On his way out the door he turned towards the family, who still looked rather frightened and spoke softly, "I will be heading to the Ministry of Magic tomorrow to speak with the Head of the Department of Children's Welfare, who I will have open an investigation into your treatment of Harry as well as to start the process of officially adopting him. Should you choose to fight us on this I can assure you that not only will you lose but I will personally make sure that every newspaper in Europe runs the story in glaring detail on the front page. Do you understand me?" He was thinking of doing this anyway but they didn't really need to know that at them moment.

After receiving their confirmation, he gave them a disdainful look, turned, and walked out the door to join Nell and Harry who were waiting for him on the sidewalk. He could see a smile on Harry's face as Nell spoke softly to him and as he got closer he noticed that she must have cast a shrinking charm on the clothes he wore so as to make them more comfortable until they could get him some new ones. "We ready to go?"

Harry nodded vigorously and couldn't hold in the smile that spread across his face as he walked with the Flamels down the street until they hit a small alleyway and stopped. Nick looked around to ensure that there was nobody about, then turned to Harry, "Alright Harry we are about to do something called apparating, it's a form of magical transportation which allows witches and wizards to teleport from one place to another in a short amount of time. Now, you must have an apparition license in order to do this on your own as it can be rather dangerous if you botch it up but we will be side-along apparating you so you don't have anything to worry about. It will be slightly uncomfortable though so make sure that you have a tight grip on both of our hands and simply think about going with us alright?"

Harry looked slightly apprehensive at hearing this but he was also excited to see more magic. It had been fun watching his clothes shrink after Nell had made a swift swishing motion with her wand and pointed it straight at his shirt and trousers. At their reassuring smiles he tentatively grabbed each of their hands and closed his eyes in anticipation as he left Privet Drive for what he hoped would be the last time.


	3. Onto Better Things

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Nick and Nell travel to Privet Drive to meet Harry Potter and try to convince Vernon and Petunia Dursley to allow them to play a part in Harry's life. They end up getting much more than they could have hoped for when things don't go quite as planned and Harry leaves the Durlsey's for good.

* * *

After having spent the next few moments feeling as if he was being forced through a very narrow tube, Harry could safely say that he disliked apparating a great deal. When he finally hit solid ground he felt like he was about to throw up and immediately bent over, resting his hands on his knees. As he was taking in great gulps of air to try and keep his stomach from rebelling, someone began running a hand through his hair in comfort.

"Just give it a moment Harry, it will pass," Nick said from off to his left, "I remember vomiting quite spectacularly the first time I ever apparated so you are doing much better than most."

When he finally felt like he wasn't about to hurl what was left of his long ago lunch, he stood up straight and looked up at Nell, who was still running her hand through his hair and making it messier than ever, with gratitude. "Thanks Mrs. Flamel, I feel better now."

Nell scrunched her face up in playful disapproval, dropped her hand to his shoulder, and began steering him towards the cottage, "None of that now Harry, since you are going to be living with us for the next seven or so years you should feel free to call us Nick and Nell."

Harry didn't respond though, he was too engrossed in his new surroundings. They were facing a small wooden cottage that sat in the middle of a large clearing, surrounded by a dense forest that somehow looked both foreboding and welcoming at the same time. All manner of flowers bordered the cobbled walkway leading to the front door, which was painted a brilliant blue-green, and what looked like ivy and honey suckle was draped over nearly every inch of the outside walls. Plants that he couldn't rightly identify were scattered here and there… ' _was that one moving_?' and a giant willow tree sat off to the right of the cottage with what Harry guessed was a bright yellow swing hanging from one of its branches.

"This is your home?" He asked incredulously.

Nick beamed with pride, "It most certainly is, this is The Journey's End and it has been our home since the first time we moved to Britain and we couldn't ask for any place better."

"It's incredible," Harry whispered feeling a warmth spread throughout his whole body. Having never really been welcomed at the Dursleys he was hard pressed to recognize this feeling and it took him some time to realize that this must be what it felt like to have a home, to be wanted. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to discreetly wipe away the tears that had fallen without him noticing.

Nell gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze, "Come on sweetheart, we will give you a tour of the cottage and then Nick can whip us up a quick dinner while I get your room prepared."

Harry nodded and followed her up the path, turning his head this way and that. He stopped abruptly, barely registering that Nick had nearly run into him from behind, and stared at a very large tiered water fountain that had small stone protrusions coming out of the water every few inches and what looked like, "Are those…" he stopped himself because that was ridiculous.

Nick chuckled at his reaction, "If you were going to say fairies then yes they are." He said, also gazing at the small creatures dotting the surface of the water. "They live in the forest mostly but like to come and hang around the fountain so they can groom themselves and stare at their reflections. We don't even bother turning the water on anymore since it tends to upset them," he gave Harry a light push to get him moving again, "They also enjoy the smell and taste of honeysuckle, which is why Nell has planted so much of it as well as why I had to put so many benches in the fountain. Large groups of them would congregate all at once and they would start to fight over sitting space."

They actually made it all the way into the house before Harry stopped to stare again. The inside was very basic but was even better than the outside, if that was possible, and had a distinct cozy feel to it. The large fireplace was crackling merrily and tons of pictures that he couldn't quite make out adorned the walls and shelves along with various knickknacks that he really had no hope of identifying. The couches and chairs were well worn but also well taken care of and various pillows were spread half haphazardly on each.

A movement caught his eye on one of the couches and as he looked over he saw that what he had thought was a large black and white speckled pillow was, in reality, the largest cat he had ever seen, and it was staring straight at him. They stayed like this for several moments before the cat got up, stretched a bit, then walked towards them and stopped at the very edge of the couch, its light green eyes never leaving him.

"Harry, this is Alcmene, she is what is known as a Kneazle, a magical feline with a very high intelligence and unnatural ability to detect distrustful people. Don't worry too much about the staring, she does that to everybody when first meeting them," Nell said breaking the silence but not the staring contest, "Go ahead and introduce yourself to her and she will go about her business."

He was no stranger to cats, having spent ample time at Mrs. Figg's house, but though her cats were bigger than most he had seen, none compared to the one right in front of him. Feeling slightly foolish, Harry stepped towards the large cat. "Hello Alcmene, my name is Harry Potter, its very nice to meet you," he murmured and reached his hand out hesitantly towards her. She sniffed at his fingers a moment, continuing to stare, before she closed her eyes, rubbed her head against his hand and started to purr. Harry's shoulders drooped in relief as he felt that he had just passed a difficult test.

"Very good Harry, I'm glad that you two seem like you'll get along. Lets go ahead and move onto the rest of the house so we can eat and get ready for bed, its been a long day."

What followed was a rather hurried tour of the Flamel cottage, which he realized halfway through must be bigger on the inside since there was no way all of the rooms would have fit with how small the cottage looked from the outside. He learned that his room was to be the first room on the right down the hallway, the guest room was right after his room, and the loo across from both was pretty much his since Nick and Nell had their own attached to their room, which was located at the very end of the hall. Though she was sure he would do so anyway, Nell made sure to remind him to please knock first before entering, whether their door was open or closed. The room on the left past the bathroom was a very large study/library with built in bookshelves on every wall that were overflowing with books, a small fireplace with two comfy looking chairs and a couch facing it, two large mahogany desks facing each other in the middle of the room, and a gigantic skylight that took up most of the ceiling.

Nick informed him that they would be getting him his very own desk so that they could all work together if they wished and Harry had to stop himself from getting chocked up again. He had the feeling he would be doing this quite a bit until he got used to the fact that they really wanted him as part of their family and treated him like an actual human being.

Next, they walked straight through the kitchen to the cellar, which was really Nick's workshop/potions lab and Harry was told that he was not allowed to come down here without one of them present since a lot of the things lying around could be rather dangerous if handled inappropriately. After promising that he wouldn't, they went back up the stairs and Nell sat him down at the dining room table with some tea and told him to relax while she went to make sure that his room was ready for him.

The rest of the night passed rather quickly for Harry after that. He watched in fascination as Nick flicked his wand at various items around the kitchen to get dinner started and before he knew it, he was being served lamb chops with peas, mashed potatoes and gravy. Conversation had been light throughout, neither Flamel wanting to start any long discussions, and Nell proceeded to supply Harry with second and third helpings until he simply couldn't eat another bite.

Afterward, while Nick cleaned up the kitchen, she took Harry to his new bedroom which he hardly registered since he now felt extremely sleepy due to the large dinner and exciting afternoon. After waiting for him to change into his massive hand me down nightshirt and pajama pants, Nell came in and told him that she had deemed the three year old toothbrush she had found in the bag with his clothes 'prehistoric and unworthy of cleaning his teeth' and promptly confiscated it. Before he could ask her what he was supposed to use to brush his teeth with she pointed her wand at his mouth and he actually felt the days build up vanish all at once, leaving his teeth feeling slightly itchy. As she herded him towards and then onto the bed, she told him that the teeth cleaning spell was only for temporary use as it was rather harsh on the teeth and they would be getting him all new toiletries tomorrow.

Harry was so engrossed with how comfortable his bed was that it took him a moment to realize that he was actually being tucked in for the first time that he could remember and he felt simultaneously embarrassed and pleased with this turn of events. When he looked up at Nell she gave him a warm smile and ran a hand through his hair before giving him a kiss on the forehead, "Goodnight sweetheart, we are so glad to finally have you here with us."

"Thank you for getting me away from that place and for taking me in."

Nick came up behind Nell as she straightened, put his hands on her shoulders, and smiled down at him, "You're welcome Harry, I only wish we would have been able to come get you sooner," He said sadly before perking up again, "Now get some sleep, we have a busy day tomorrow."

"Good night," Harry replied and, burrowing down further under the covers, was asleep before Nick and Nell could even make it out of the room.

OoOoOoO

Around the same time, in a castle situated in the Scottish Highlands sat Albus Dumbledore, anxiously awaiting the meeting which he had scheduled with his current Potions Master. Severus had had a potions conference to attend shortly after the students had left for home and Dumbledore was loath to spoil whatever enjoyment the taciturn man got from these events so had waited until he returned to give him the news about the Flamels. He knew Severus would be upset at losing the professorship, and Head of House status along with it since only a professor could hold such a position, but also knew that he would find his new job much more to his liking once he got used to the idea.

Minerva, on the other hand, had been thrilled upon hearing that they would be gaining not only a competent Defense professor but also a more agreeable Potions professor as well, not to mention the possibilities this opened up for Gryffindor winning the House Cup now that Severus would no longer be making the House Points system a 'laughing stock', her words, not his.

Before Dumbledore could think on the subject any further, his alarm ward sounded to let him know someone had just activated the stone gargoyle. He flicked his wand and two snifters with a bottle of brandy appeared on the desk within easy reach of both wizards. A few moments later there was a brusk knock on the door, "Come in," he said and cast a warming stasis charm on the glasses as the door opened and in glided Severus Snape. "Ah Severus, it is good to have you back. How was the conference?"

"Extremely tiresome and somewhat educational as always." He took a seat as he sat down and his lips curled up into a sneer, "They asked me to give a speech on the best practices used when brewing the Wolfsbane Potion."

"I'm sure they benefitted greatly from your expertise. Not many witches and wizards can brew such a difficult potion as easily as you seem to."

Snape's eyes narrowed. While receiving praise from Dumbledore was not uncommon and not in itself suspicious, the fact that there was a bottle of his favorite brandy already sitting on the desk was. The brandy only made an appearance when there was news to be given that Snape wouldn't like. "Why did you call this meeting Headmaster?"

"Well Severus, I called you hear to discuss some changes that will be occurring this coming school year. If you remember, shortly before school let out I was paid a visit from my old friend Nicolas Flamel," he paused and waited for Snape's nod. "We spoke about a number of things but the most significant being that he and his wife Perenelle have agreed to come and teach at Hogwarts for a few years."

"And just what subjects will they be teaching?" He asked warily.

"Both Flamels will be coming in to take a look at the jinx on the Defense position to see if they might be able to rid us of it or, if not, see if they can find a way around it. If they can then Perenelle will be taking over there as well as offering an elective of some sort while Nicolas will be taking over as the Potions prof—"

"So I'm to be sacked then?" Snape asked with venom as his entire body went rigid and he pinned Dumbledore with a murderous glare. "After everything I have done and sacrificed, I'm just going to be pushed aside because someone better has come along?"

Dumbledore sighed, "You most certainly are not being sacked Severus. Please sit down and let me finish," he poured them both a glass of the brandy and waited for Snape to snatch his out of his hand before continuing, "As I was saying, Nicolas will be taking over as the Potions professor and I will be moving you to the first floor near the Hospital Wing where your new living quarters will be situated. You will have a small office attached as well as your very own potions lab in which I would like you to brew potions for the Hospital Wing instead of us having to order out for what we do not have."

"Is that it then? I assume I will be taking a pay cut as well?"

"Of course not. Any extra potions you brew will be sold to St. Mungos as well as J. Pippin's Potions in Hogsmeade and all prophet for them will go to Hogwarts. Because of this, I will be keeping you at your standard pay and there is even enough funds in the budget to help get you started on gathering ingredients so you can begin taking personal orders if you so wish. Hogwarts would take a fraction of the amount you sell the potion for to pay back the cost of the initial ingredients as well as any you may need assistance in acquiring after you get started but the rest will go to you. Does that sound acceptable to you?

Snape sat there for long minutes, looking as if he was thinking over the offer, without saying a word. There really wasn't much of a downside to it as far as he could tell. He wouldn't have to babysit anymore of the little brats and he could even build up his own business of sorts, get his name out there for when he was finally able to leave this place behind and open his own store, he would already have a list of loyal clientele. His only real problem was having his position taken away from him to make way for someone who was much more favorable and knowing that the man's wife would most likely be taking the position he had wanted for the past 10 years was quite irksome as well. He knew it was his pride talking and he would obviously take the offer, he just didn't want to seem to eager.

The small smile that had escaped Dumbledores grasp was hidden behind his glass as he took a sip of the warm brandy and watched his old friend pretend to think things over. He knew Severus wouldn't be able to pass up such an opportunity, he would be putting his house to shame if he didn't accept the chance to not only getting out of having to deal with children every day but also being able to jump start his own business, all while still being paid a decent salary.

"Very well, I will accept the change in position," he finally snapped.

"Excellent my dear boy!" Dumbledore beamed across from him. "I even have a suggestion regarding how you may be able to get started on the orders if you would care to hear it?" At Snape's curt nod he continued. "Well, Nicolas has been taking personal orders for potions for quite a number of years now and while he will most likely want to keep his most loyal customers for himself, he may be willing to transfer some of his clients to you since he won't have as much time on his hands in the future."

"That would be a great help." Snape grudgingly admitted. It took a lot out of him not to just throw the very idea back into the wizened wizards face but he had become quite adept at stamping down on his pride over the years. "I will attempt to make contact with him sometime at the beginning of August to see if we can meet to discuss it."

"Very good. I do want to warn you that Nicolas will be grooming young Mr. Potter to become his apprentice in the future so I suggest you tread carefully in that regard should you find yourself in the lad's presence."

At hearing this news, Snape emptied what was left of his glass, poured himself another, and gulped down half of that before he pasted a condescending sneer on his face. "Of course the brat has an apprenticeship all lined up before he even starts school. While everybody else has to show their worthy of such a privilege he just gets handed his future on a plater. I assume he will—"

"That is quite enough Severus," Dumbledore interrupted, "I understand your hatred of James Potter, I really do, but it would be foolish to transfer that hatred onto his son, especially when you don't even know anything about the boy. And just so you know, the apprenticeship was originally meant for Lily but she had to decline the offer since she and her family had to go into hiding," he gazed at the younger man over his half-mooned spectacles, both knew why the family of three had been forced to take such actions, "So he promised to accept Harry instead."

Despite the guilt roiling around inside of him at Dumbledore's implication, Snape let none of it show on his face. "Very well, I won't provoke the little wretch as long as he stays out of my way. Have you decided on who will be taking over as the Head of Slytherin?" He asked, wanting to get off the subject of the Potter spawn as quickly as possible.

Knowing that the small promise was all he could hope for Dumbledore allowed the subject change. "I have been dithering between Professors Vector and Sinistra though I am leaning more heavily towards Professor Vector simply because she has the stricter personality, which I think the Slytherins would respect, and I believe that they will need it with the new changes I assume are coming to Hogwarts with the new appointments."

"I agree about Septima being the better choice but what exactly do you mean about the new changes?"

"Well, both Nicolas and Perenelle have held teaching positions for a number of years and Nicolas was even made Headmaster of Beauxbatons twice in the past so I suspect they will have some good suggestions on how we can make the school even better. They may even see fit to donate some gold to the school in order to bring about any changes we may not be able to afford."

"I see," Snape said with disdain. He knew the respect the Headmaster held for his former mentor was well earned but it was hard for him to accept that anyone could just come in and start dictating what should and should not be done within the school and the Headmaster just allow it.

"Now now Severus, it won't be as bad as all that." Dumbledore said with a smile, seeing and interpreting the man's look correctly.

"If you say so Headmaster," Snape replied, "If we are done here I will be heading home now."

"Of course, thank you for coming by and for accepting the position change. If nothing else comes up I will see you at the staff meeting two weeks before school starts and you can sign your new contract then. You may use my fireplace if you wish."

Snape nodded, stood up, and took a pinch of floo powder, "Goodnight Headmaster," he said before throwing the powder into the fire, stepping into the green flames, and saying, "Spinner's End."

Dumbledore's shoulders slumped a bit in relief once the man was gone. That had gone far better than he originally thought that it would. Now all he had to do was wait until the Flamels came to take a look at the defense position and he would be done with his staffing issues for the coming year.

OoOoOoO

Harry awoke early the next morning to the sun shining on his face and a deep rumbling coming from somewhere off to his right. He opened his eyes in confusion because he had never woken up to either of these things before, turned a bit, and came face to face with Alcmene, who was giving him an expectant look and purring up a very loud storm. He reached out and started petting her, then looked beyond her and found that the source of light was coming from the very large window that had a comfortable looking seat beneath it which faced the front garden. The curtains were drawn back and he could see that he had a perfect view of the fairy fountain outside.

His curiosity peaked, he began looking around his new room. When taking the tour last night he had only gotten a brief glance into the room he would now be living in before Nell swept him along rather abruptly, trying to finish the tour as quickly as possible and he figured that the only reason he had even gotten to see the library is because both of them seemed to be quite proud of it and wanted to show it off a bit. The queen size bed he was currently laying in dominated the center of the room and had night stands on either side of it while a medium sized desk sat across from him facing the left hand wall. A wardrobe was set against the wall with the door while an empty bookshelf stood in the corner between it and the desk and every piece of furniture seemed to be made of the same mahogany wood.

A light knock on the slightly opened door drew his attention and he looked over to see Nell peaking her head in. "Good morning Harry. May I come in?

Harry nodded his head, "Good morning."

She walked in and gave a smile as she looked down at him, "I see Alcmene decided to keep you company on your first night with us. She probably wanted to make sure you weren't too restless being in a new place."

He made sure to give an extra good scratch behind the ears of the large cat after hearing that. "I was a little confused when I woke up but as soon as I saw her it brought everything back."

Nell gave him a slightly concerned look as she sat down on the edge of his bed, "How are you doing with everything that happened? Yesterday didn't go quite as we had originally planned it to and we just want to make sure that you are still ok with how it all turned out."

Harry tilted his head to the side as he gave her question some serious thought. Everything had happened so fast yesterday and he had been so tired last night that he hadn't really gotten a chance to think about how he felt. It wasn't just the new living situation but also being told that he could do magic and finding out exactly how his parents had died had been rather difficult to hear but he was glad he finally knew the truth about them. All in all, it had been a bit overwhelming for him but he was extremely glad that he wouldn't have to stay with the Dursleys anymore and could be with two people who seemed to care a lot about him; the fact that they were going to teach him about magic was very exciting too.

"I am very glad to be away from my relatives, they never really wanted me to begin with and their house never truly felt like home to me, just a place that I was forced to stay. I think it will take some time for me to get used to all of the changes but so far I haven't really found anything that I have disliked." He said hesitantly and looked up at her.

She gave him a reassuring smile, "I'm glad to hear that Harry, we will do our best to make you feel welcome here and to teach you what you need to know to rejoin the wizarding world. Please don't hesitate to come and ask us if you ever have any questions about magic, us, your parents, or anything else you might think of ok? Nick and I quite enjoy answering any and all types of questions." At his small nod she continued, "Now why don't you hop in the shower, I already washed and shrunk your clothes for today and they are hanging in the wardrobe for you, then you can join us in the kitchen for some breakfast and we can go over the plans for the day."

Once Harry was out of the shower and Nell had shot him with another teeth cleaning charm all three sat down to a full English breakfast to discuss the days agenda.

"So Harry," Nick began as he served himself, "Nell and I were discussing some things last night and we think it would be best if we took you to St. Mungo's Hospital first thing to see about getting you a full physical as well as any vaccinations you might need, then taking you shopping for some new clothes and other essentials. Nell also mentioned taking you to Diagon Alley, which is the main shopping center for witches and wizards in England, to get you fitted with some new glasses since yours are looking a little worse for wear. Does that sound alright with you so far?"

"Do I really have to go to a hospital?" Harry asked worriedly.

Nick gave him a reassuring smile, "It's really nothing to worry about Harry, we do things a bit differently in the magical world. All of our healers, the magical equivalent of doctors, are typically located within hospitals which have multiple floors with different areas that each healer specializes in. We don't really have separate offices for healers like they do in the non-magical world but some of the richer families do have their own private healers and places such as Hogwarts have a matron to take care of any injuries or illnesses that the students might get throughout the school year."

Harry relaxed somewhat at hearing this but was still a bit nervous since he had never been to see a doctor and wasn't sure what to expect. "Oh ok, that sounds good then."

Nell chimed in at this point, "Once we get your glasses and if its not too late, Nick is going to take you to the Ministry of Magic to visit with the Head of Children's Welfare so we can get the paperwork started on the adoption. We will be taking the clothes that your relatives had you wearing, your toothbrush, and your glasses as evidence of their neglect, which is why neither of us have offered to fix your glasses for you. Meanwhile, I have a meeting with an old friend to attend to so I will meet you two back here afterwards." Nell had owled Albus that morning telling him that he had better clear his schedule this afternoon as she wanted a few words with him about the Dursleys in general and Harry in particular.

"Before we leave however, there is something we have to go over with you. Do you remember the story from yesterday about the dark wizard and how he was destroyed when he tried to kill you?" When Harry nodded she continued, "Well the spell that he attempted to use on you is called the Killing Curse and is one of three highly illegal dark spells. The reason its illegal is because anyone who is hit with it will die instantly and there is no known defense against it. Because Voldemort disappeared while attempting to kill you and because you survived the Killing Curse, you have become quite famous within the wizarding world."

Harry looked at her skeptically, "I'm not famous am I? How can I be famous when I didn't even know about the magical world until yesterday?"

"I know its hard to accept dear but it is true. You will understand once we start introducing you to people and we wanted you to be somewhat prepared when people start staring and possibly even wanting to shake your hand, though Nick and I will put a stop to it if we see that it starts making you uncomfortable or we can keep people at bay entirely if you would prefer." Nell said gently.

Harry nodded, "I think I'd rather not be mobbed by people I don't know." To be honest, he wasn't really sure what to make of this new development. How could he be famous for something he didn't even remember? He certainly hoped random strangers weren't going to just come up to shake his hand and he wasn't too thrilled on the staring either.

"Then we will make sure that doesn't happen." Nell agreed.

After forcing Harry to stuff himself silly once again, the Flamels quickly cleaned up the breakfast dishes then led Harry into the living room and stopped in front of the fireplace.

"Ok Harry, you are about to experience another form of magical transportation that is called floo travel and will most likely be the one you use most often until you are old enough to get your apparition license. Now, floo travel is basically traveling between fireplaces that are connected to the Floo Network, which is controlled through the Ministry of Magic." Nick explained as he stepped forward to grab a handsome wooden box with intricate carvings off of the fireplace mantel and bringing it over. "What you do is grab a pinch of floo powder," at this he opened the box to reveal a large amount of glittering powder, "and throw it into the fire. When the flames glow green you step in, say your destination, and you will be instantly transported."

"Nick will go first to show you how it's done and I will go last to make sure you get to where you're going." Nell said. "I would recommend that after you throw the powder into the fire, you take a deep breath before stepping in as that can help keep you from breathing in too much ash. Also make sure that you keep your elbows locked in tight and your eyes closed so you don't get dizzy."

Nick nodded and handed the box to Nell. "Watch closely now Harry." He said grabbing a pinch of floo powder, walking up to the fire, and throwing it in. There was a roar as the flames glowed green and rose up higher than Nick. Harry saw him take a breath, step into the flames, and shout, "St. Mungo's!" then he was gone and the fire glowed orange once more.

"It all looks very dramatic but it really is quite simple sweetheart. Just wait until the spinning stops and when you open your eyes you will see Nick waiting for you at the other end." Nell said encouragingly when she saw Harry hesitate.

Harry gulped and nodded before reaching in and grabbing a pinch of powder. He walked up to the fire, threw the powder in, took a deep breath and stepped into the green flames. He nearly choked when he opened his mouth but managed to shout out, "St. Mungo's!" clearly and then he was spinning very fast and trying very hard to keep down his breakfast.

After what felt like a very long time, the spinning stopped and Harry felt himself falling forward but before he could go very far, someone caught him and helped him to stand up straight. When he opened his eyes, which he hadn't even realized he had closed, Nick was standing in front of him, covered in soot, and smiling down at him.

"That was very well done Harry," He said waving his wand over himself to get rid of the soot then doing the same to Harry. "I imagine it will take a few tries before you get the hang of the landing and you will get used to the spinning after a while."

Harry nodded his head weakly but didn't trust himself to say anything at the moment as he still felt slightly queasy.

After Nell came through they stepped out into a very crowded reception area. Nick and Nell walked straight past the desk labeled _Inquiries_ , through a set of double doors and down a corridor before taking the stairs all the way up to the 6th floor. They entered the _General Admissions_ corridor and walked a bit until they reached a door on the right that bore the words ' _Pediatrics_ ' with a card in a brass holder underneath that read ' _Healer-in-Charge: Mathias Manning, Trainee Healer: Willow Price'_.

When they pushed open the door and stepped in, Harry took stock of his surroundings. There were chairs of varying size scattered around the room with small tables and mats with toys for the younger kids and all of the walls were covered with a safari themed wall paper. At least, Harry thought it was a wall paper, until a giraffe walked into view and began eating from one of the tall trees.

Seeing his look of awe and surprise, Nick explained, "It's not real Harry, it's simply charmed to look like different scenery every day. The only ones I know that it cycles through are the safari, under the ocean, and the Rainforest but I'm sure there are more."

"Hello, I am Perenelle Flamel, I owled this morning about a last minute appointment with Healer Manning for Harry Potter," Nell said quietly to the witch behind the receptionist desk.

Harry saw her eyes go wide and when she looked down at him he noticed that her gaze immediately went to his forehead.

"Harry Potter?" She all but squeaked.

"That's correct, I believe we requested that the appointment be as discreet as possible. We would rather Harry not be mobbed by well wishers and reporters on his first official trip into the wizarding world."

"Of course Mrs. Flamel, I understand entirely," The witch said hastily, "I will alert Healer Manning to your arrival and let you know when he is free. It shouldn't be more than twenty minutes or so.

"Thank you." Nell said and they went to sit down in the corner to wait away from the few families already in the waiting room.

Nick handed Harry a magazine called Which Broomstick he found lying on one of the tables and after getting over the fact that they could actually fly on brooms and that the pictures were moving he enjoyed passing the time watching the various witches and wizards flying through the pages and reading about all the different kinds of brooms.

Just as Nell was telling Harry that they had a couple of brooms at the cottage and she could teach him how to fly if he would like to give it a shot, the receptionist called her name out to let them know that Healer Manning was ready for them and led them back into an examination room.

"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Flamel, and young Harry of course. I hope everyone is doing well this fine day." The healer greeted them in a jovial manner as he walked through the door followed by a younger witch. "I hope you don't mind but Trainee Healer Price is shadowing me at the moment and will be joining us for the examination." At their nods he continued. "I understand you were worried about word getting out that Mr. Potter was here but I can assure you that the healer patient confidentiality oath will of course keep either of us from speaking a word outside of this room about him and I have spoken to Sarah at the receptionist desk regarding the matter, so you really have nothing to worry about."

"Thank you very much Healer Manning." Nick replied.

"Of course. Now, after you contacted me this morning I went to retrieve Mr. Potter's medical records but can't seem to find anything after his standard check up shortly after he turned 12 months old. Usually that will only happen if the family moves out of the country or the child is taken into the muggle world and only sees muggle doctors growing up. If either is the case it would be helpful if you could send me a copy of those records to add to the ones we already have." He said and looked at the Flamels expectantly.

"I'm afraid we don't have any records to give at the moment but I'm sure we could get them." Nell said and turned to Harry. "Do you know if your Aunt and Uncle kept records of your doctor visits Harry?"

"I've never been to the doctors before." He answered and watched as Nell closed her eyes and started muttering to herself. "I have been to the nurse at school a few times though." He added, thinking he might have done something wrong.

Nell took a deep breath then looked at Harry and gave him a warm smile, "I'm not upset with you Harry, just your so called relatives."

"Mr. Potter are you telling me that you have never gone to get your vaccinations through your muggle doctors or even had a check-up?" Healer Manning asked in bewilderment. He wasn't an expert in muggle medicine by any means but he knew for a fact that there were certain vaccinations that children in the muggle world needed to get on a regular basis to ensure they stayed healthy.

When Harry shook his head the healer turned to the Flamels, "I would like an explanation if you would. What did you mean you were upset with his relatives? Are you not his legal guardians?"

"We were actually going to the Ministry later today to start the process of adoption and to open an investigation." Nick spoke up. "When we visited him at his relatives house yesterday evening, there were indications of neglect as well as verbal abuse so we offered to take him in when his Aunt and Uncle told us that they wouldn't allow him back into their home if he chose to attend Hogwarts. We brought him here first so we could make sure he is healthy and would like to request that anything you find in your examinations be made available to whoever is put in charge of the investigation."

"I can assure you Mr. Flamel that if I find anything I won't hesitate to turn it over." Healer Manning exclaimed angrily before softening as he turned to Harry. "Alright Mr. Potter, since we have no records to go on regarding your previous health we are going to have to do a full examination, which actually isn't as difficult as it sounds. All you have to do is sit there while the spell I cast on you runs its course, you might feel a slight warming sensation, but thats perfectly normal. Does that sounds good to you?"

"Yes sir."

The healer gave him a smile as he pulled his wand and grabbed the parchment paper that Trainee Price handed to him. "I'm just going to cast the spell and its going to record your current health as well as any major past injuries you have had onto this piece of parchment." He said and swished his wand in a complicated manner before he whacked Harry lightly on the top of the head then tapped his wand to the parchment.

It didn't hurt but Harry instantly felt like he was being encased in a warm transparent cocoon that started from his head and slowly made its way down to his toes. After a few minutes the healer tapped the parchment again and the warm feeling disappeared all at once.

"That wasn't so bad now was it Mr. Potter?" He asked and chuckled when Harry shook his head. "Now lets see, there doesn't seem to be any cranial damage but it says here that you have the beginnings of a hairline fracture on the bridge of your nose. Do you know what that might be from?"

Harry wasn't sure what a hairline fracture was but if he was concerned about something being wrong with his nose then he knew the reason, "My cousin Dudley likes to punch me on the nose a lot. That's how my glasses always get broken."

"I see, repeatedly being hit in the same location would explain the fracture but that is easy enough to fix. It also says here that you are suffering from slight malnutrition and stunted growth. Do you get enough to eat at your relatives Mr. Potter?"

"Well, I never get to eat as much as I would like to but sometimes…" He hesitate for a second before he decided to continue, "when I would get in trouble they would lock me in my cupboard and only let me out in the evenings to eat and go to the loo." Harry confided. He wasn't entirely comfortable telling a complete stranger about the way the Dursleys treated him but if it helped in making sure he never had to go back, he was willing to do it.

"Your cupboard?" Healer Manning asked, sincerely hoping the child wasn't talking about what he thought he was talking about.

Nick cleared his throat and all eyes turned to him, "We discovered that Harry's relatives forced him to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs for the past ten or so years. I warded it before we left so that they couldn't get into it and so the investigators can have a look at it should they wish."

Getting his anger under control after hearing that took some doing but Healer Manning finally managed it. When he looked over to his trainee he could see that she was having a much tougher time of it so he walked over and spoke quietly to her, "Do you need to step outside for a bit Willow?"

She shook her head vigorously, "Thank you Healer Manning but I'm fine. It's just the thought of anyone treating a child like that, especially The-Boy-Who-Lived, just makes me sick."

"I understand entirely but just focus on the fact that he is now getting the help he needs and that his relatives certainly won't be getting away with this." He said and patted her on the shoulder before going back to his patient.

"I apologize about that everyone, it's never pleasant to hear that a child is being mistreated so I hope you can forgive us. So, sleeping in such an enclosed space for an extended period of time would explain the stunted growth. Luckily, both that and the malnutrition from not getting enough to eat are treatable as well. I'm not showing any other major injuries from the scan so that's good. If you wouldn't mind removing your glasses for a moment Mr. Potter, I would like to go ahead and fix the fracture on your nose." He said pulling his wand again and, once Harry's glasses were removed, tapped him lightly on the nose and said, "Episkey."

Harry felt as if the bridge of his nose was heating up then all of a sudden it went very cold but when he reached up to feel it, it felt totally normal.

"That takes care of that and onto the other two." He began, turning to the Flamels, "What I would like to do is prescribe a nutritional potions regimen that will combat both at the same time. He will need to take the pink potions twice a day, one with breakfast and the other with lunch and both need to be large high calorie meals, while the blue potion will be taken once a day with a large dinner. Because the potions will be speeding up his metabolism and growth rate I highly recommend having him eat large snacks in between each meal or he might become dizzy and/or lightheaded. Now, I will be prescribing a full month supply of potions to start with but he may need more so once he is done bring him on back for a check-up and we can see just where he is at and prescribe more as needed."

"Will he experience any type of discomfort?" Nell asked with concern.

Healer Manning nodded his head, "The blue potion he takes in the evening is targeted mainly towards bone growth and is designed to work in conjunction with the pink potions, which focus more on building up fat and muscle. The reason I have him taking it at night is because, though mild, the slight discomfort he feels while relaxed and sleeping is tolerable whereas if he were to take it in the mornings, depending on how strenuous his daily activities are, the discomfort would actually be much worse. The most that will happen is that he may be a bit restless at times during the night but that's nothing to worry about." He finished, handing the prescription he had written out to Nell.

"Would you recommend that we take him to a muggle doctor to get any vaccinations he might need for a child his age?"

The healer thought about it for a moment before responding, "That would actually depend on whether or not he will be spending a lot of time in the muggle world. Since we have different illnesses and diseases it's not really necessary for him to get the vaccinations if he is only going to be spending a few days out of the year in the muggle world but I have found that it's more of a personal preference whether parents of half-bloods or muggle-borns decide to continue getting their children vaccinated once they are introduced into the magical world."

"And there are no vaccinations he needs for the magical world?" Since the Elixir of Life kept either Flamel from ever getting sick they never really kept up with the different illnesses that sometimes plagued their world.

"Nope," the healer replied cheerfully, "The last outbreak we had was for Dragon Pox but that was about four years ago and its been pretty quiet ever since. If something does occur, St. Mungo's will alert all major institutions and newspapers to let people know that they need to come in to be vaccinated, that includes Hogwarts."

"Well that's good to hear. I don't think we have anymore questions at the moment." Nell said and looked to Nick, who shook his head.

"At this time, since you're not Mr. Potter's legal guardians I unfortunately can't give you his medical records from today but I will have a copy waiting for when the Ministry contacts me, then when you bring him in for his check-up if you show me a valid copy of the adoption I will gladly hand over all of his records to you."

"We understand Healer Manning and thank you for all your help today." Nick said and shook the healers hand.

"No thanks needed." He said, shaking Nell's hand then turning to Harry to do the same. "It was a pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter, I hope to give you a clean bill of health the next time I see you so make sure to take your potions and eat as much as you can in the next month ok?"

Harry's whole arm jiggled with the man's enthusiastic handshake and he couldn't help but laugh, "Yes sir, Healer Manning."

"Oh, I almost forgot! Since you were such a good patient today, you get one of these." He said and pulled a large red lollipop from a jar on the counter and held it out for him to take.

Harry excitedly reached out but stopped suddenly and turned to Nick and Nell to make sure it was ok and at Nick's encouraging nod he took it. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Now, Trainee Price here will take you to where you can get that prescription filled and then you can either make an appointment with Sarah before you leave or you can owl us at any time."

As they followed Trainee Price through the halls Harry unwrapped his lollipop and licked it, finding that it tasted like strawberry. His eyes widened in surprise when he pulled it away and the whole thing turned blue. The next lick tasted like blue raspberry before the lollipop changed again to orange. He heard Nell giggling from his right and looked up at her.

"If you stick it in your mouth while its a certain color it will stay that flavor until you take it out again."

He smiled and nodded before going back to see what other flavors there were.

By the time they had filled his potions prescription, which came in a small box, that in no way should have been able to hold a months worth of potions, with labels for which meal to take each potion, made an appointment with Sarah, and were walking out of St. Mungo's it was about 10 o'clock in the morning.

"We still have enough time to get you new clothes before lunch." Nell said as they walked down the street. "We have decided to take you to Harrods so we can get all of your clothes at one time and it's just a few blocks away from here."

Harry had heard about Harrods from his cousin Dudley, who always gloated about all the wonderful toys and things they had whenever they came back from shopping, knowing that his parents would never take Harry there. When Nick said that he would take him into the toys section a large smile spread across Harry's face. His excitement only grew the closer they got to the store and Harry wondered how things could get any better.


	4. A Gift That Lasts Forever

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **A/N:** Thank you so much for all of the awesome reviews I have gotten so far for this story, they really do mean a lot to me. For those of you who are excited about Harry getting to Hogwarts, I do want to let you know that it will be at least another 2 chapters after this one before that happens but I will certainly try and make those chapters worth the wait. Thanks again guys!

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Nick and Nell bring Harry to live with them and Harry finds out what having a real family is all about. Dumbledore meets with Snape to inform him about his new position and though the greasy bat is upset at being pushed aside to make room for someone better qualified, he accepts the change in the end. Nick and Nell take Harry to St. Mungo's where they find more evidence of the Dursley's abuse and set out to get Harry healthy again.

* * *

The trip through Harrods was a whirlwind of excitement and new experiences for Harry. They stopped in for clothes and things first and a little over an hour later they came away with an entirely new wardrobe for him, including casual, dressy, and athletic clothes for fall and winter, trainers, and to his embarrassment, underwear. Nell had actually gotten his clothes slightly larger than his current size since the potions he was going to be taking would cause him to grow a bit in the next month. She then had him change into one of his new outfits right after purchasing everything before shrinking all of the bags so they could put them in their pockets and not have to worry about carrying them.

Nick and Harry spent the rest of the time before heading off to lunch in the toy department while Nell went to wonder around. They started out with a rather innocent nerf gun war, which quickly escalated from just the two of them to several other children running around trying not to get caught by the store clerks, and ended with several of the guns, a large container of LEGO, a bunch of different types of board games, and various other toys coming home with them. Nick told him quietly that he planned on experimenting with a few of the nerf guns to see what kind of magical enhancements he could add to them to make them more fun and that Harry was welcome to help if he wanted.

After meeting up again and stopping for lunch at a French restaurant inside the large store they finally left and boarded a bus to make their way to Charring Cross Road, stopping along the way to pick up some toiletries and things. Once they finally got there, Harry was hustled through a dingy pub called The Leaky Cauldron and out the back into a small courtyard where they stopped and were looking at the brick wall with much more intensity than Harry thought a brick wall should warrant. He was astonished however, when Nick pulled his wand, tapped one of the bricks three times, and the wall opened up to reveal a long cobblestoned alley with a multitude of different shops.

From the moment they stepped through the entrance into Diagon Alley, Harry was completely in awe of his surroundings. There were so many wonderful things for him to look at that he wasn't able to concentrate on just one thing for too long, though a huge sign that was draped horizontally across a store called Flourish and Blotts did catch his eye as they approached. When he looked over at it he saw that it read 'Temporarily Closed Due to an Infestation of Bookworms'.

"Oh drat," Nell said as she stopped to read the sign, "I had hoped to get a few introductory books for you to read in your spare time before our trip."

"What trip?"

That caught both adults by surprise, in all of the excitement they had completely forgotten to tell Harry about their trip in a few days. "Well, Nick and I had made plans some time ago to take a trip to Egypt to, among other things, visit the International Warlock Convention which is held yearly in different locations and attended by witches and wizards from all over the world. It's not just a good way to see and interact with people from different cultures and walks of life but also very fun. Hundreds of vendors set up booths and tables to sell their wares and you can just about find anything and everything if you look hard enough."

"Oh," Harry said dejectedly,"Will I be staying with someone else while you're gone then?"

He sounded so crestfallen when he asked that Nick rushed to reassure their young charge, "You will be coming with us of course, from the moment we were allowed to come visit you we had planned on taking you. That is, if you're ok with going to Egypt?"

Harry perked up instantly at hearing this news, he remembered reading about Egypt a bit from school and had always been interested in its history,"Yes!" He practically shouted, "Are we going to get to see the pyramids, and ride camels, and sail down the Nile?" He asked excitedly bouncing up and down a bit.

Nick and Nell laughed at his stream of questions as they guided him back down the alley and Nell answered him, "We most certainly will be seeing the pyramids and a relaxing trip down the Nile sounds like a very good idea but I'm afraid we will have to wait and see about the camels. They really aren't all they're cracked up to be."

This did nothing to dull Harry's excitement and his mind was filled with thinking of all the different things they might do. Did Egypt have a magical section similar to Diagon Alley and were there magical animals like Alcmene there? Would he get to take pictures and, if so, would the Flamels let him send some to the Dursleys to make them jealous? This last thought nearly had him rubbing his hands together and cackling as he pictured their reactions.

He was brought out of his musing however when Nell cried out excitedly before grabbing Nick and dragging him over to one of the shop windows. Nick, in turn, was just able to grab onto Harry to drag him along as well before he got out of reach. They stopped behind a small group of children with their parents and Harry had to crane his neck to see just what they were looking at.

"Look Nick, Nimbus finally came out with a new model. The Nimbus 2000." Nell said with enthusiasm as she gazed at the sleek broom residing in the window.

"Yes dear, I see it," he responded and looked down to see Harry also gazing at the broom appreciatively. "How fast does it go then?" He asked patiently, knowing she wouldn't be willing to continue on until she knew all the details.

She had to squint to see the small print from behind all the children, "It says here that it can go from 0 to 65 miles per hour in 10 seconds. That's on par with the Cleansweep 7 that came out in February. Oh, look at the finish on the mahogany handle. Isn't it a beauty?"

As she stared at the broom Nick saw Harry give her a curious look so he leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Nell loves flying and Quidditch about as much as she loves her spell crafting. She even played on a professional Quidditch team a number of years ago and is quite a gifted chaser."

Harry, having heard a brief rundown of the sport this morning, looked upon Nell with even more respect.

After spending a few more minutes looking at the new broom Nick was able to pull them away from Quality Quidditch Supplies and began steering them back down the alley again. It only took them a few more moments of winding through the crowds before they stopped in front of a small store called Samperi's Spectacles. Each word was housed within a lens of the giant pair of glasses that sat above the door and it took a second for Harry to read the name because the words kept going in and out of focus. One minute they were clear and he could read them easily, the next they were completely blurry and looked like most things did when he took his glasses off.

The shop was empty of customers when they walked inside but absolutely packed with shelves and counters filled with hundreds of different glasses and one single chair in the far right corner that looked like it reclined backwards.

Nell was just about to ring the small bell resting on the counter near the old fashioned cash register when a short hunched woman stepped out from the back room. "Welcome to Samperi's Spectacles, my name is Mrs. Lorena Samperi. How may I help you today?"

"Hello, we were looking to get Harry here a new pair—" She was cutoff by an outraged cry from the small woman.

"Well I should hope so. I can tell without even running any scans that those glasses are not suited to him at all. And look at the state of them, they are an absolute travesty." She ranted as she came around the counter and stopped right in front of Harry, her face mere inches away from his. "May I young man?" She asked holding out her hand expectantly.

Harry nodded and removed the glasses. They had hardly touched her hand before she snatched them away, turned around, and started walking towards the chair in the corner, muttering to herself while looking the glasses over and absently grabbing a piece of parchment off a pile that sat on a small table next to the chair.

"Come along Mr. Potter, I imagine you will feel much better once you have a pair of spectacles attuned to your natural eyesight."

Harry startled at her knowing his name without being introduced before remembering that he was supposed to be famous. Nick gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder and a small push forward to get him moving. He crossed the room and sat in the chair, which reclined slowly as soon as he was situated.

"Alright, this won't take but a minute. Just look straight ahead at the black dot on the ceiling and try not to move your eyes too much."

She waited for him to find the big black dot and focus on it before she started waving her wand over his face. He felt a slight itch behind his eyes and had to keep himself from reaching up to rub them. A few seconds later and she waved her wand one last time and the itch disappeared.

"There we go." She said and tapped the parchment she was holding. "Why don't you go pick out some new spectacles and while I correct them to your prescription you all can go over the different charms I can put on them." She instructed, handing him back his glasses.

It took a while for him to find some that he really liked but he finally came away with a pair that had silver frames and rectangular lenses with rounded corners. When he had put them on and looked up at the Flamels to see what they thought for what felt like the hundredth time, Nell had let out a soft squeel and told him that he looked very handsome. He mumbled a thank you and made his way over to Mrs. Samperi, fighting a deep blush.

"Excellent choice Mr. Potter." She stated, taking the glasses from him and setting a piece of parchment down in front of him before placing the glasses in a small clamp. "Now, here is a list of the various charms I mentioned, just let me know what you would like and I will add them."

Harry was a bit lost when he read through the list, not sure what he should and shouldn't choose.

"Need some help Harry?" Nick asked from behind him and Harry gave him a grateful look as he handed the list over. They spent the next few minutes telling him all about the pros and cons of the various charms and helped him choose which ones would be best. In the end he chose the Unbreakable, Self-Cleaning, Impervious, Anti-Summoning, and Photochromic (which worked like sunglasses but kept the lenses completely clear) charms.

Approximately 5 minutes later, Harry donned his new glasses and was in awe as he looked around him. Everything was so clear and focused that he felt that he was seeing the world for the first time, even the colors seemed more vibrant than they had been before.

Once they had paid Mrs. Samperi and thanked her profusely they went back outside and made their way back up the alley and stepped into The Leaky Cauldron, where they stopped just to the side of the giant fireplace.

"Alright," Nell began, "I'll be heading off to my appointment now and will meet you two back at the cottage. Nick, you have everything for the investigators right?" She asked and at his nod she continued, "Don't worry about dinner, I'm going to place an order with Rosmerta at The Three Broomsticks before my meeting and will pick it up on my way back."

"That sounds great dear, we shall see you back at the cottage later." Nick said and stepped forward to give her a brief kiss.

She gave him a kiss in return, then turned to give Harry a hug before she stepped in front of the fireplace, pulled a small purple leather bag from her pocket, and reached in. A moment later, she withdrew her hand and threw a pinch of floo powder into the fire before taking a breath and stepping in. "The Three Broomsticks," she yelled, and was gone in a flash.

"So Harry," Nick began after a few moments of silence, "Would you like to take the floo to the Ministry or would you rather walk?"

Harry was quick with his answer, "Walk please."

Nick chuckled, "Very well, though you will have to get used to floo travel sooner or later. Before we go however, I do need to discuss something with you real quick." He said and led Harry to a small table in the back corner, waving away Tom when he began to make his way over.

Once they were both situated and Nick had cast a privacy wcharm around them he began, "Ok Harry, do you know what an apprentice is."

Harry thought for a second but then shook his head, "Sorry, no."

"That's quite alright. The general definition of an apprentice is a person who trains under another in order to learn a certain set of skills. They are seen quite regularly in the non magical world these days and are usually just called trainees but are a bit rarer here in the magical world because some masters can be rather demanding of their students.

"You see, in ancient times an apprentice would sign a binding contract to pretty much do whatever their master chose for them to do in order to learn their trade for a predetermined length of time. These days, the contracts are much more lax and there is the option to void said contract should either party wish to do so, though they must have a good reason for it.

"Now, the reason I am telling you this is because a few months before she died I had offered your mother an apprenticeship under me. My timing was rather atrocious and she was forced to decline my offer due to the need for you all to go into hiding as soon as possible. She did extract a promise from me however that should anything happen to her I would take you as an apprentice when you were ready and as long as you agreed to it."

"What would I be learning?" Harry asked, deeply curious.

"Alchemy, which is the study of the four basic elements as well as the transmutation of substances, such as turning copper into silver or gold and the like. There is much more to it of course but that is the basics and besides, you won't really have to worry too much about it until you are at least 16."

"What if I'm not any good at Alchemy?"

Nick gave him a smile, "Well, we won't really know that until at least a few years. While Alchemy isn't offered at Hogwarts until your 6th year, Potions and Transfiguration, the branch of magic focusing on changing one thing to another, are both offered from your first year on and will get you started on the basics."

Seeing that the young man still looked a bit worried he chose to continue, "Remember Harry, whether you accept the offer is entirely up to you and I will not be upset or disappointed should you wish to decline it and choose a different path. If you want to become a professional Quidditch player when you get older or something else entirely, I will be perfectly happy with that. Just remember that my offer will always be open for you to accept at another time if you ever change your mind. Ok?"

"Ok." Harry responded with a nod.

"Good. The second reason I am disclosing this to you now is because I will most likely be mentioning your possible future apprenticeship under me when we are arguing our case for adopting you. Though you wouldn't actually be my apprentice for a number of years, the years before can be thought of as a pre-apprenticeship where I attempt to groom you for the possible position so it gives us a good chance of gaining guardianship of you."

Harry worried a bit at hearing that. "Do you think there will be a problem with you adopting me?"

Nick tried to reassure him. "Not really but we like to have all of our bases covered just in case. The biggest obstacle we foresee is your fame and that's only because certain people will think they have a say in what happens to you when they really have no business thinking anything of the sort. But Nell and I have our own sort of fame and I intend to use that to its full advantage if necessary."

"What sort of fame?"

"That is an explanation for another time I'm afraid as we really should be heading to the Ministry now." He said standing up and dropping the privacy charm before leading a slightly disappointed Harry out the door and back onto Charring Cross Road.

It took them about 15 minutes to reach the phone booth that Nick told him was used for visitors to enter the Ministry from the street if they chose not to use the floo. And another 10 minutes to descend into the Ministry itself, go through security, and make their way to level 2 which, the friendly disembodied voice informed them as they exited the lift, housed the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

They walked down a short hallway, turned the corner, stepped through a set of heavy oak doors and into a large area filled with small cubicles. Harry followed Nick as he made an immediate left and walked between the wall and the cubicles. They made a right once they hit the lefthand wall and kept walking, Nick scanning each door as they passed, before coming to a stop in front of the fourth door which had a golden plaque that read _Department of Children's Welfare_ and right underneath that, _Head of Department: Leona Poole_.

Nick opened the door and allowed Harry to go in ahead of him.

Inside they found an office with two small desks facing them in the back of the room with a chair in front of each and a small walkway in between. On the right wall stood a huge fireplace with several comfortable looking chairs surrounding it and a table right in the middle. Several filing cabinets were set against the left hand wall along with a table that had a tea set and what looked like packages of snacks on it. All in all, the room felt rather cozy to Harry.

Only one of the desks was occupied at the moment and the kind looking woman behind it looked up when they entered and asked, "May I help you?"

"Yes please," Nick responded, striding over, "I am Nicolas Flamel, I owled you this morning."

"Ah yes, you said you had some concerns regarding a case of possible child abuse correct?" She enquired standing up and glanced at Harry who hadn't moved from near the door. "Is this the child in question?"

"Indeed it is," Nick replied, turning and gesturing for Harry to come forward, "This is Harry Potter and my wife and I are looking to have an investigation opened into the treatment of Harry by his Aunt and Uncle as well as to see about adopting him."

Though she hid it well, Harry could tell that the woman was slightly startled at hearing his name.

She came from around her desk and stopped just in front of Harry, "I see," she said before holding out her hand, "It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter, my name is Leona Poole. Please feel free to call me Miss Leona."

Harry shook her hand and gave her a nervous smile, "Hello Miss Leona."

She gave him a warm smile in return and then moved to greet Nick, "Would either of you like some tea or biscuits before we get started?"

"Just tea for me please," Nick replied and glanced down at Harry to see what he preferred.

"Just tea is fine for me too."

"Very well, we will be sitting over by the fire so if you would make your way over and sit wherever you please." She instructed and flicked her wand at the tea set.

Harry and Nick made themselves comfortable in the two chairs that sat closest together as Miss Leona levitated a large tray over and set it on the table in front of them. Once it was situated they saw that she had brought over the tea as well as an assortment of different biscuits on a plate.

"Just in case any of us gets hungry during the meeting," She said and poured them each a cup of tea before sitting down herself with a quill and parchment that she seemed to have pulled from nowhere, "Now Mr. Flamel, why don't you tell me in detail what exactly is going on and we can see what actions need to be taken once I have all the facts."

Nick gave a nod and began his explanation. Not wanting to leave anything out he decided to start with the happenings before the Potters had gone into hiding and their interactions with Harry as a baby then continued on with everything they knew had happened after the attack and finally ended with an in depth breakdown of their meeting with the Dursleys as well as all the things they had done that day.

Miss Leona, for her part, was writing furiously and would occasionally interrupt Nick to ask a question or to clarify something further, especially the part regarding the apprenticeship.

When Nick finally fell silent she set her parchment and quill down and massaged her hand. "Mr. Potter," she said, gaining the boys attention, "Do you have anything extra to add to Mr. Flamel's statement regarding what has happened yesterday and today?"

Harry shook his head, "Other than that this has been the best day of my life, no ma'am."

She gave him another warm smile, "I'm glad to hear you are enjoying yourself. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions regarding your relatives treatment of you these past years? If you don't feel comfortable with it right now please don't hesitate to say so. We have quite a bit from Mr. Flamel already so anything you give us will just be extra information."

He thought about it for a long while before coming to a decision, "I don't really feel like talking about it anymore today if that's all right."

"That is perfectly fine Mr. Potter, you have had quite an emotional two days already so I understand perfectly." She said and turned her attention to Nick again. "Mr. Flamel, from what you saw yesterday, do you think we need to be concerned about the other child under the care of Mr. and Mrs. Dursley? That will be part of our investigation of course but we like to look at every aspect of the case before making a decision."

"Not that I could see but we didn't interact with him enough to really determine that with any degree of certainty." He replied and turned to Harry, "What do you think Harry? Should we be worried about your relatives treatment of your cousin?"

"I don't think so? He throws tantrums a lot but they never yell at him and he always gets whatever he wants, especially food and toys. The only times I have seen him get in trouble is at school because he likes to bully other kids but any time the school tries to say anything about it Aunt Petunia goes on one of her rants about how perfect he is and that he would never do anything like that."

Miss Leona wrote all this down and made sure to put a note for the investigators to look for signs of parental abuse, however mild, so they could try and nip that in the bud as soon as possible.

"Thank you for that Mr. Potter. Now, I would like to speak to you in private for a few minutes regarding Mr. and Mrs. Flamel if it's all right with you?"

Harry glanced at Nick and the man gave him an encouraging nod, "It's ok Harry, just answer her questions truthfully and everything will be fine."

When Harry gave him a hesitant nod in return Nick stood up, "Good lad, I'm going to be right over there," He pointed to Miss Leona's desk, "so if you need anything just give me a shout."

When Nick was situated in the chair in front of her desk, Miss Leona pulled her wand and cast a privacy charm around them so Nick couldn't hear anything they were saying. "You seem quite taken with the Flamels despite only being with them for a day." She commented as she reached forward and grabbed a biscuit off the plate.

Harry nodded his head emphatically, "They're really great."

"That's good to hear. And you like their home too?"

"Oh yeah, they have the coolest house I've ever seen." He began and a grin spread across his face. "There is this giant fountain outside that has all of these little fairies flying around it and tons of different flowers and plants. The inside is really cool too and they put me in this humungous room that they said would be mine from now on. Then there is Alcmene, she is this huge cat that Nell said was magical but I can't remember what she called her."

"A Kneazle?"

"Yeah, that's it. She is really nice, though she did stare at me a lot when we first met."

She laughed softly, "Some Kneazles tend to do that. Now, that all sounds very nice and I am glad that you like staying with them so far but I would also like to hear you opinion on the apprenticeship Mr. Flamel mentioned. How did it make you feel when he told you about it?" She asked leaning forward, but instead of grabbing another biscuit, she offered the plate to Harry.

Harry tentatively grabbed one and took a bite as he thought about her question. "I'm still not sure about it to be honest. He said that he is offering it because he promised my mum but we don't even know if I'm going to be any good at it."

"Did he seem like he may pressure you into accepting the apprenticeship?"

He looked at her in confusion for a moment before responding, "No, he said that it would always be my choice whether I wanted to do it or not and that it will be a few years before I would have to decide. He even said he wouldn't be upset or disappointed if I chose to do something entirely different."

"Very good Mr. Potter. I only have one more question for you and then we can call Mr. Flamel back over." She said as she watched him reach for another biscuit. "How do you feel about the Flamels adopting you?"

Harry's face lit up, "I would like that very much. They are both really nice and have bought me all these new things that my relatives never would. They are even taking me to Egypt with them and Nell said that she would teach me to fly a broom."

"Well that is certainly exciting." She remarked. "I think that is all the questions I have for you at the moment Mr. Potter. Let's get Mr. Flamel back over here so we can wrap this up and you can be on your way as we have been talking for quite some time."

She dropped her privacy charm and called Nick, who was working on the Rubik's Cube he had bought at Harrods earlier, back over. He stashed it away in his pocket as he walked over and took his seat next to Harry.

"Ok first off," She began, "I would like to let you know that, with your statement as well as the evidence you mentioned, I have determined that we have ample cause to open an investigation into the Dursleys for neglect as well as emotional and psychological abuse. We will have two of our aurors trained in these types of cases working with some of the squibs that work for the muggle children's welfare since the situation crosses through both worlds. The aurors will probably wish to ask you a few questions of their own so expect an owl asking you to come in again or possibly allowing them to visit you at your home.

"Now, despite Mr. Potter here being a magical citizen, because they are muggles, the Dursleys will most likely be tried and sentenced through the muggle courts. The aurors are really only deployed as a go between and to assist with any magical aspects the squibs may not be able to handle, such as the ward you placed in the Dursley's home. Does that all sound ok with you?"

Nick gave a nod, "I am fine with that, as long as some form of justice is meted out."

"Excellent, moving on to the adoption. At first I was only going to allow you to have temporary guardianship of Mr. Potter until we could decide whether a full adoption was in his best interest. But, given his fame, I'm afraid some people may attempt to drag out the adoption and he may not end up with the best family in the end. So, after some thought, I have chosen to allow you to adopt Mr. Potter under the condition that I be permitted to conduct monthly inspections for the months that he is not attending Hogwarts."

"Of course, that would be perfectly fine with us."

"Very well, that just leaves signing the adoption papers, which your wife will also need to come in to sign, as well as handing over the evidence. I will have one of the aurors get the Dursleys to sign the paperwork relinquishing their guardianship of Mr. Potter just so everything is ship shape and nobody can stick their nose in to reverse the adoption once it's all said and done."

It only took her a few minutes to get all the paperwork together for Nick to sign and for him to give her the oversized clothes and broken glasses. He also promised to have Nell come in early tomorrow morning to sign the papers and give her own statement should they wish it.

All in all it was only another 10 minutes or so before Nick and Harry found themselves back in the main lobby of the Ministry of Magic and both were ecstatic at how things had turned out. Harry, because it was now official that he would be part of a proper family and Nick, because though they had little doubt they could get custody of Harry they had not anticipated the adoption going through so quickly and efficiently.

"Well, I think a momentous occasion such as this calls for a celebration of sorts." Nick said, turning to look at Harry with a wide grin. "What do you say we head back to Diagon Alley and partake of some large ice-cream sundaes?"

"Yeah." Harry responded excitedly and he didn't even mind when Nick suggested that they take the floo back to The Leaky Cauldron.

OoOoOoO

As Nick and Harry were discussing the future apprenticeship, Nell was marching up the path to Hogwarts and anyone who laid eyes on her could tell from her expression that she was a witch on a mission.

Hagrid, who had again been sent to escort their guest, very nearly just let her find her own way to Dumbledore's office just so he could avoid having that look directed at him but he screwed up his courage and stepped forward to greet her in the end. Though Nell softened a bit as Hagrid guided her through the castle she knew that she was still a bit short with him when he chose to ask her questions so she set a reminder to herself to apologize to him about it later. She had spent the entire walk up from Hogsmeade ensuring she was suitably ready to tear strips off of Albus and she would not let Hagrid's friendly demeanor ruin it now.

When she was finally on the landing leading to the Headmaster's Office she didn't even knock or wait for his acknowledgment before opening the door and striding in.

"Perenelle, how lovely…" Dumbledore began but was cut off.

"Stuff it Albus, I'm not here for a social visit."

Dumbledore was taken aback at the sheer anger in her voice, he had truly not expected this when he had agreed to meet with Perenelle after receiving her letter this morning. He was curious as to what the Dursleys had done to spawn such aggression towards him as well as caused the blood wards around #4 Privet Drive to fall. The only thing that had stopped him rushing to the Dursley's home earlier when he realized the wards were no longer active was Perenelle's letter arriving about an hour before, telling him that she wanted to speak with him about young Harry.

"Then what may I help you with today?" He asked guardedly.

"I want to know exactly what the hell you were thinking when you decided to leave Harry with those despicable people."

"Ah well, you see, with his mother's sacrifice I was able to anchor very powerful protections to his Aunt, given that she was Lily's sister, via their blood. It was to ensure his safety from the Death Eaters who bribed their way out of Azkaban."

"I know what blood wards are and I know very well that they would not protect him from any danger from within the house and if you sit there and tell me that those wards were the only reason for leaving him in that place so help me Albus, I will flay you alive."

"Of course it wasn't, I also sent him there so that he could grow up away from the wizarding world to keep him from becoming arrogant and brash due to his fame. They are also his last remaining family and so I felt it would be the best place for him."

Without the pertinent information, mainly that the Dursleys were loathsome human beings and should never have been allowed to care for a child, Nell could see that his decisions made some sort of sense. That did not mean however, that they were the right ones. "Did you never even check up on him?"

Dumbledore hesitated to answer that question but given that the wards had already fallen, meaning that Harry was most likely no longer with the Dursleys, he concluded that it would be best for all around if he went ahead and gave her everything he knew. "Not personally, but I did hire a squib by the name of Arabella Figg to watch over him and report any serious findings to me. She told me that he is a bit of an outcast in the neighborhood, that his cousin regularly bullied him, and that he has a rather odd way of dressing but none of those seemed overly alarming to me."

Nell closed her eyes and started muttering to herself and it took him a moment to determine that she was swearing in French. When her wand suddenly appeared in her hand, Dumbledore was so startled by it that he very nearly pulled his own before realizing that she wasn't intending to use it on him, not yet anyway.

She conjured an empty vial and proceeded to pull a memory from her temple, let it drop into the vial and then slammed it down on top of his desk. "Take this memory Albus and watch, watch as he is ignored and bullied by all three of those horrid people you call his family, watch as he is so surprised at the thought of anybody showing him affection that he hardly knows what to do, watch at how excited he is to leave with two near perfect strangers rather than stay in that place," She paused, closed her eyes briefly and let out a sad sigh before continuing. "And at the end, once you see where they forced him to sleep for ten years, I want you to look me in the eye and tell me again that leaving him there was the best thing for him."

"Is this really necessary Perenelle?" He asked but she simply sat down and refused to acknowledge anything he said, so with a weary sigh and much trepidation he went over to his pensieve and spent the next 30 odd minutes viewing her memory.

When he finally emerged he was both angered and deeply saddened. He collected Nell's memory, handed it back to her, and sat down at his desk and didn't say anything for several long minutes. "I knew that he would not have the happiest childhood there but I never imagined they would treat him like that."

That set Nell off again. She stood up and towered over the man. "You left that baby on their doorstep fully aware that you were possibly setting him up for years of abuse!? Have you gone completely out of your mind?"

"It was the safest…"

"I don't care how safe those wards made him, that was not a good enough reason to leave him there. In fact, no reason is ever good enough to leave any child in an abusive environment. And did you just happen to forget about Nick and I?"

"Now Pere…" But she continued on as if she hadn't heard him.

"We would have taken him in without a moments hesitation, raised him as our own, given him all the love he could ever need and more." She fumed, passing back and forth in front of his desk, sending a glare his way every time she turned. "But no, the great Albus bloody Dumbledore, without even consulting anybody else, chose to drop him off at a home where he has known nothing but neglect and emotional abuse for the past ten years. You have no idea how hard it was to keep myself from hexing that horse face shrew and that walrus she calls a husband."

"Perenelle please…" He tried again.

"Don't you dare 'Perenelle' me Dumbledore! You have no right to address me like… like a friend, after what you have done." She paused to take a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself somewhat since her magic had started to manifest in what looked like small crackles of lightning.

Though her last barb stung him greatly, Dumbledore took advantage of the momentary silence. "Mrs. Flamel," He began, which finally got her attention and she reluctantly sat down to hear what he had to say, "I realize that I made a grave mistake but, no matter how wrong it was, please understand that I did what I thought was best during a time of war, no matter if it had just abruptly ended, there were still Death Eaters running about unchecked. I did not forget about you and you're husbanbut I did forget the innumerable resources you have at your disposal that could have seen to his safety had I placed him with you and for that, I am deeply sorry."

Nell said nothing for a long time. "I am still upset with you." She spat just as he was becoming quite anxious and he could only nod his head in acceptance at that. "You will have to do a lot if you intend to be forgiven by either of us, starting with not interfering with Nick and I adopting Harry."

Again, knowing that Harry was no longer safe at the Dursleys, Dumbledore had no problem with this turn of events. "I actually think that would be a marvelous idea."

She gave him a scathing look but didn't say anything to that. "Since we will be his legal guardians, you will also tell us everything you have been keeping secret regarding Harry these past years."

Dumbledore's heart skipped a beat, he knew that if he told them the prophecy that they would most likely tell Harry and he didn't feel that the boy was ready for that. "I don't believe that would be such a good idea."

"You seem to be under the impression that I was asking." She remarked and gave him a smirk. "You are, of course, mistaken and should you refuse to divulge anything regarding him, with Voldemort's return looming on the horizon, Nick and I may very well feel that it would be safest to take Harry out of the country."

That simple statement nearly sent Dumbledore into a full blown panic, though he was careful not to let Perenelle see it. Harry leaving the country would spell disaster for all of wizarding Britain and he knew that she wasn't bluffing in the slightest. Beauxbatons would welcome both them and Harry with open arms, and just about every other school in the world would do the same now that he thought about it. "I really don't think that would be necessary."

"Oh but your opinion doesn't really matter to me at the moment. You really only have the two options available to you. Why don't we let you think it over while we are in Egypt and we can discuss it further when we come in to take care of the stone." She said and stood up.

"Yes, perhaps that would be best." Dumbledore agreed, standing up as well, but he already knew which option he would be forced to choose.

"Indeed. Now, after some planning last night, Nick and I think it would be a better idea if you had someone trustful and nondescript fetch the stone from Gringotts either while we are in Egypt or shortly after we get back, instead of one of us going to get it."

"I agree, that is a much better plan, and I will most likely have them retrieve it shortly after you return."

"Very well, here is the key and Nick will let the Goblins know that we are giving you permission to access the vault but make sure you send a note with whoever it is so that they don't make a scene and are turned away."

"Of course. Goodbye and I hope you have a good time in Egypt." Dumbledore said and gave her a smile.

She looked down her nose at him slightly and he knew that she had not forgiven him. "Farewell." Was all she said before she swept out the door.

To see such disappointment on the face of one of the two people that he greatly admired and had looked up to for so long weighed heavily upon him. He knew that not many could understand that the relationship he had with the Flamels was more of a student mentor relationship, with him being the student. Yes he was powerful magically, but his knowledge could never compare with that of Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel and he had no problem admitting such to anybody who asked.

Dumbledore let out a deep sigh as he made his way back to his desk. Fawkes flew over to his familiar and began singing as Dumbledore absently extended his hand and began scratching the back of his neck, where he knew Fawkes had a hard time reaching. "I was just trying to protect him Fawkes. But Perenelle is right, I really did do wrong by young Harry."

The old phoenix gave a trill and rubbed his head on Dumbledore's cheek to try and comfort him. And there they sat, late into the night, as Dumbledore thought over everything Perenelle had told and shown him that day and what he might be able to do to get them to trust him again.

OoOoOoO

When Nell got home and Nick told her what had happened she was thrilled at the news and glad that she had stopped by Honeydukes to pick up an assortment of sweets for Harry to try, since they now used these as a celebratory dessert and both Flamels had quite a bit of fun seeing Harry's reactions to some of the more bizarre candy.

The next morning, she made sure to head to the Ministry straight away to sign the paperwork for the adoption and answer a few questions for Miss Poole. She also stopped by the Portkey Office to inform them that they would be adjusting their itinerary a bit to include a third person and changing their departure dates and destinations. She and Nick had come up with a nice surprise that they thought Harry would enjoy and so needed a second Portkey and permissions to visit a second country the last two days of their vacation.

The few remaining days before they were to leave for Egypt were a combination of excitement and torture for Harry. Before the Flamels took him in, the furthest he had ever been away from Little Whinging was the zoo for Dudley's birthday and he was beyond excited to actually be traveling outside of the country for the first time but, the more excited he became, the longer the days seemed to drag by. While both Flamels were busy getting things situated for the trip, they refused to let him help so he spent those days playing with the toys they had bought him, reading through A History of Magic and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, practicing writing with a quill and ink, and learning to fly.

This last activity held his attention for far greater lengths than any book ever could but he was only allowed to fly when either Nick or Nell were available to watch him since he was still pretty new to the whole experience. In fact, he had nearly given Nell a heart attack when she was first showing him the basics and they were flying in ever widening circles and doing figure eights so that he could get the hang of turning when he got a bit too excited and chose to try out a dive that he had seen in Which Broomstick without giving her any warning.

After completing the dive successfully and without injury Nell forced him to land his broom and then proceeded to give him a severe dressing down. In the end, she grounded him for the rest of the day and told him that he would not be flying again until he wrote her a foot long essay on flying safety and the consequences of attempting tricks when not properly trained. He felt so guilty for scaring her that he finished the essay within that same hour and apologized profusely when he gave it to her. She, in turn, apologized for yelling at him like she had and extracted a promise from him that he would not attempt anything like that again without letting her show him how to safely perform it before telling him that he had in fact executed his dive flawlessly and that she was very impressed.

On one of the days, Nick made sure to put on a big show, while not being too obvious, about going to Gringotts and making a withdrawal from his high security vault. While the Goblins grumbled and looked at him funny when they took him to it and he went into the vault without taking out the one item that was contained inside, he paid it no mind.

The night before they were supposed to leave was finally upon them and Harry was very excited and didn't want to go to sleep. He was so excited in fact, that Nick was seriously contemplating giving him a mild sleep potion but before he could decide one way or the other Nell forced the lad into bed, where he promptly burrowed down under the covers and was fast asleep in moments. Nick and Nell smiled at each other and left to attend to a few last minute things that needed to be done before they left for what promised to be a splendid week of vacation.

* * *

 **A/N:** I know that the adoption process wasn't very realistic with it just happening on the spot like that but I really just wanted to get it out of the way instead of it dragging on and on when we all knew he was going to end up with the Flamels anyway :P

 **A/N 2:** Sorry to all of you guys who dislike or think that Dumbledore is being kind of OC but that will really only happen in regards to the Flamels because of the type of relationship they have with him. Neither of them are going to hesitate in letting him know when they believe he is doing something wrong so get prepared for that happening in the future.


	5. Land of the Pharaohs

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Nick tells Harry all about being an apprentice and then takes him to the Ministry to speak to the Children's Welfare Department. Both he and Harry get a surprise when Leona Poole decides to allow the Flamels to go ahead and adopt him on the spot. Meanwhile, Nell berates Dumbledore for leaving Harry with the Dursleys and gives him an ultimatum in regards to sharing any secrets he might be keeping to himself about Harry.

* * *

The 20th of July dawned bright and early for those residing at The Journey's End.

Once Harry had finished his shower and gotten dressed in the light cotton clothes Nell laid out for him, saying they would be more comfortable for the climate in Egypt, he bounded up to the kitchen table and eagerly began filling his plate for breakfast.

Nell gave a soft laugh as she set his morning potion down beside his plate. "Make sure you don't eat too quickly or it won't settle correctly. This will be your first time traveling via portkey, an international one at that, and we don't need to add an upset stomach on top of it."

"What's a portkey?" Harry asked, quickly gulping down his potion and making a disgusted face before taking a bite of sausage to get rid of the taste.

"A portkey is an object that has been enchanted to transport anyone that touches it to a specific location." Nick spoke up as Nell sat and began building her own plate. "There are two kinds of portkeys, the ones that are set to go off at a specified time and ones that activate once pre-set conditions are met, such as when someone touches it or says a password. You can get normal portkeys, which allow you to travel throughout Britain, quite easily through the Portkey Office at the Ministry but international portkeys must actually be purchased at least a week or so beforehand because you need the permission of both our Ministry and the Ministry of the country you plan on visiting before you can acquire one."

Nell seamlessly took over the explanation as Nick took a bite of his breakfast. "Though they are rather easy to make, they are strictly regulated by the Ministry and making an unauthorized portkey can cause you to incur a heavy fine and should anyone get caught doing so multiple times, they can be subject to time in prison on top of it."

"So are they worse than apparating and floo travel?" Harry asked, digging into his chocolate chip pancakes.

"Normal portkeys are pretty on par with apparition in that they can leave you feeling slightly nauseous and giddy but international portkeys are usually worse depending how much farther you are traveling." Nick said, getting up and going to a side table just inside the living room to pick up a wrapped present and bringing it back over to set it next to Harry. "I saw this while in Diagon Alley the other day and thought you might like to use it on our trip."

Harry picked up the present and held it reverently in his hands, "But it's not even my birthday or anything," he said in barely a whisper.

Reaching over to comb her fingers through his hair Nell responded, "This will be our first trip together, the first of many, and we just want to make sure you enjoy yourself to the fullest and have a way to remember it always."

Giving a small nod Harry began slowly tearing at the wrapping and though he tried not to make a mess at first, his eagerness at opening his first ever present finally got the better of him and he began to tear at it in earnest. When he got the wrapping off and opened the box he gave a small shout of glee as he pulled out a brand new wizarding camera. Also inside the box was a camera case with a strap so he could sling it over his shoulder.

"This is brilliant! Thank you so much." He said and brought it up to look through the viewfinder.

"You're very welcome Harry. It is charmed to be unbreakable and the lens itself is charmed so that it doesn't scratch or get dirty. There are also 12 rolls of film in the front pouch of the case, though I don't foresee you needing all 12 for the trip, I'd rather we be safe than sorry. " Nick said, starting to clear away his dishes.

"Can we take a picture of the three of us outside before we leave?" Harry asked as he continuously pressed the shutter release button while pointing the camera all around the room, despite the camera not even being on.

"Of course we can sweetheart. Now, why don't you finish up your breakfast while I make sure we packed everything we need. Our portkey is scheduled to activate at 9:00AM and I would like for us to get there at least 5 to 10 minutes early." Nell stated, also gathering her dishes.

Harry reluctantly set the camera down but all during the rest of his breakfast he kept stealing glances at it and smiling.

About 20 minutes later everything was packed, Alcmene was in her carrier, though she was extremely unhappy about it, and they were ready to go. They stepped briefly outside to take a picture, with Nick conjuring a temporary stand and showing Harry how to load the film as well as set the camera on a timer, and were immediately set upon by the few fairies that had gotten up early and were eating their breakfast of honeysuckle. All 8 of them, buzzing excitedly, settled themselves onto the three humans within easy view of the camera. Harry had 2 fairies sitting on his right shoulder, one on his left, and one that he was sure was laying down in his hair while Nick and Nell had one of the remaining four on each of their shoulders, but they paid them no mind and all smiled broadly for the camera.

They broke away as soon as the picture was taken as if nothing had happened, though Harry was secretly pleased with the turn of events, and while the fairies went back to their breakfast, they went back inside so they could floo to the Ministry.

Despite stumbling a bit when exiting the floo shortly after Nick, Harry was quite proud when he managed to catch himself before he fell forward and he stood that little bit straighter when Nick praised him for his quick reflexes as he vanished the soot off of him. They waited only a few seconds for Nell to exit with Alcmene and clean herself off and then they were off, making their way to the elevators.

When they stepped out of the elevator onto level six, Nick led the way to the Portkey Office and then to two desks near the back and stopped at the one on the left that had a name plate sitting on it that read ' _Jarret Barker'_ and right below that ' _International Portkey Administration'_.

The man sitting behind the desk looked up from his paperwork when they stopped before him and recognition flashed across his face. "Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Flamel, good morning to you," He said as he stood up and grabbed a folder off of the corner of his desk. "You are a little early but there are chairs you can sit in in the departure area. If you would follow me please."

After showing them into the portkey departure point and handing them a length of rope that he pulled from inside the folder along with the required paperwork they would need to check in once they reached Egypt, Mr. Barker left them to wait the remaining 8 minutes for their portkey to activate.

"Alright Harry," Nell began as she sat him down and made sure he was paying attention, "about 30 seconds before the portkey is set to go off we are going to step into that circle in the middle of the room and each of us is going to grab onto the rope. When it activates you will feel a hook like sensation behind your navel pulling you forward and your hand will seem like it is stuck to the rope. Whatever you do, and this is very important, you must not let go of the rope for any reason until we land. Do you understand all of that?"

Harry nodded his head vigorously but had to ask, "What would happen if someone let go too early?"

"Though its only been done a handful of times, only one of the wizards foolish enough to do so actually survived, all the others died due to major blunt force trauma to the body in the form of multiple broken bones, abrasions, and/or lacerations depending on where they landed. You see, while apparition teleports you from one spot and instantly deposits you to another, a portkey actually pulls you through space to get you to your destination at tremendous speed while also protecting you from both obstacles in your way and from your body turning to mush from traveling so fast. Therefore, if someone were to let go of the portkey mid-flight they would not only continue to travel at high speed until they were stopped but they could also find themselves high up in the air without a broomstick, and that is when major injury occurs."

By the time her explanation was over, Harry was looking at her in complete horror and was unable to speak.

"I think you broke him dear," Nick chuckled.

"Maybe I did go a little overboard," She replied and bit worriedly at her lip.

Nick knelt in front of Harry and got his attention. "I know what Nell described sounds scary but you have to remember that these things only happen if you let go of the portkey before you land, which is actually rather difficult to do unless you are fairly determined. So, as long as you hold onto the rope until we get to where we are going you will be perfectly safe. I promise."

Nick's promise did reassure Harry quite a bit but it took him thinking about all the fun they would have in Egypt for him to be able to screw up his courage and give them both a nod of somewhat reluctant acceptance. Just as he opened his mouth to say that he would be all right a soft buzzer went off.

" _60 seconds to departure._ " Echoed a disembodied voice throughout the room.

"Ok you two, lets get ready. Harry, you might want to hand Nick your camera bag so you don't fall on it by accident when we land and hurt yourself." Nell said and watched the young boy reluctantly hand over the camera.

"I will give it back as soon as we get there." Nick said, slinging the camera crossways over his shoulder so it was hanging at his side.

" _30 seconds to departure._ "

Both Flamels then ushered Harry forward to stand in the middle of the designated circle and Nell held out the rope for them to grab onto with Nick taking the other end of it and Harry taking the middle.

" _15 seconds to departure."_

"This is it Harry. You ready?" Nick inquired with a grin plastered on his face.

Harry gave him a small nervous smile in return and tightened his grip.

" _10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…0"_

And they were gone.

OoOoOoO

When his feet finally slammed into the ground and he toppled over, Harry was extremely glad that the ride was over. However, as he lay there on the floor catching his breath, he realized that he didn't feel nearly as bad as he had when he apparated with Nick and Nell.

"Are you all right Harry?" Nick's voice came from directly above him and when he opened his eyes, he saw that both Flamels were leaning over him with worried looks on their faces.

"I'm ok," He replied and grabbed the hand that Nick offered to help pull him up. He took stock of his surroundings and saw that the room they were in was smaller than the one they had just left, with an empty table and a light brown skinned woman with long dark hair which was braided and hung over her left shoulder sitting behind a small desk near the only door. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and, except for the landing, I think I actually like it better than apparating."

"That's good to hear. Now if you could look at me for a moment please." Nick said and pulled his wand. When he was looking up at him, Nick did a circle like motion with his wand and then tapped Harry lightly on the forehead.

Whatever spell Nick had cast on him made Harry's throat go sort of dry, his ears start to ring slightly, and his brain and eyes feel fuzzy all at once and he shook his head to try and get rid of the feelings. It only took a few more seconds before everything seemed to go back to normal. "What was that?"

"That Harry, was a translation charm. It gives you the ability to not only hear, read, and understand foreign languages but to also speak them. Quite useful but it does have its down sides. First, it is only temporary so we will need to recast it every 48 hours and two, the more you use it the less effective it becomes." Nick explained as he handed Harry back his camera.

"Less effective?"

"Correct, but I'm afraid we will have to wait to go further into it as I'm sure this lovely lady is getting rather impatient with us." And with that he strode over to the desk and the woman behind it stood. When he got to her Nick gave a short nod in greeting. "Sorry about that, it was his first time traveling by portkey."

"That's quite all right, it happens all the time." She replied with a kind smile directed at Harry. "We do have some potions to help with the after effects if you need it."

Harry shook his head at the pretty young woman while fighting a blush and returned the smile. "I'm really ok, thank you."

"You're very welcome. Let me know if you change your mind." She said and turned her attention to Nick and Nell. "My name is Farida Shadid and I will be assisting you with your check-in. Do you have your paperwork?"

"We certainly do." Nick replied and handed over the papers he had been given by Mr. Barker before they left.

She took the papers from him and sat back down while pulling a folder from a stand containing at least 8 others. "Ok, 2 adults, 1 child, and a pet kneazle. Here for vacation." She looked up and gazed at the carrier that Nell was holding. "Do you have the license and proof of ownership of the kneazle?"

"I do." Nell said and reached into her purse and handed the documents to her.

"Thank you." She replied looking them over before nodding. She set the last paper face up on the desk, grabbed some blank parchment from a drawer and set it right next to it. She then pulled her wand, made a swishing motion over it before tapping it and then tapping the blank parchment, making an exact copy of the first.

Harry's eyes went wide and he moved closer to watch as she did this for each piece of parchment in the small pile.

When she was done, she handed them all back to Nell and put her copies at the bottom of the folder. "Very good. Now, I do need to get a quick scan of the luggage you have brought if you would set it all on the table please."

Nick took their shrunken luggage out of his pockets and set it on the table before stepping back.

Miss Shadid walked over, unshrunk everything, and started flicking her wand all over the bags while muttering incantations, causing them to glow different colors.

Nell leaned over while she was doing this and whispered into Harry's ear, "She is checking them to make sure we didn't bring in any dark objects or the like. It's standard procedure for every country."

Harry nodded his head in understanding and continued to watch.

When she finished about 5 minutes later she shrunk everything back down and allowed Nick to come forward and reclaim it. She then turned to Nell. "Mrs. Flamel, would you bring me your purse please?"

Nell stepped forward and placed her purse on the table right in front of her.

This time, Miss Shadid only did three incantations before asking Nell to open it so she could peer inside. Once she did that she nodded and turned to Harry with another smile. "Mr. Potter, may I ask what you have in your bag?"

Harry's face lit up and he walked excitedly over to her and held it up proudly. "This is my new camera. Nick and Nell gave it to me as a present."

This drew a laugh from all of the adults as Harry beamed.

"That was very nice of them. Would you place it on the table for a few moments please?" She asked and watched as Harry placed it gently down before her.

When she was done, Harry picked it back up and looked up at her. "Would you take a picture with me?"

That threw the young woman for a moment. "Why would you want to take a picture with me?" She asked in bewilderment.

"Well you're the first person I've met while visiting a new country and you're really nice." He said simply and then gave her the look that he learned seemed to make Nick and Nell cave the few times he had really wanted something, usually to go flying. "Please?"

It only took a few seconds for her to give into those puppy dog eyes. "Very well Mr. Potter, once we are done getting you checked-in we can take a picture together."

"Yes." Harry whispered and went back over to Nick and Nell, who were chuckling softly.

"Moving right along," Miss Shadid stated and sat back down. "If I could see your passports please?"

Nell reached into her purse again and pulled out three passports. She had taken Harry to the Ministry one morning to get his picture taken for the passport and explained that they were used in both the magical and non-magical world for those witches and wizards that chose to visit the non-magical world in other countries. The picture didn't move but the issue date would change depending on what country they entered, if it was less than 6 months since it was issued. She also told him that they never had to get a new one because the expiration date automatically changed every ten years for her and Nick and every 5 years for Harry until he turned 16, though she did add that they would need to get his picture changed as he grew.

When Miss Shadid opened Nick's passport, Harry could see that it visibly thickened due to all of the pages that had been added since they had first gotten their's because of all the different countries they had traveled to. She flipped through quickly and found the blank page she needed before grabbing a stamp and stamping the page. She did the same for both Harry and Nell's passport before she handed them back.

"And last but not least, if you could sign these forms stating that you are aware of the rules and regulations regarding the laws of the country, including but not limited to; the list of spells which are illegal to cast within Egypt, the penalties for attempting to leave the country with contraband items, and the penalties for attempting to smuggle unauthorized persons or magical creatures out of the country."

Once they were done signing everything, Miss Shadid put everything away in her folder, slipped it into a drawer, and stood. Nick took his camera from him and Harry ran over to the young Egyptian woman to stand shyly next to her and she slid her arm around his shoulder as they both smiled for the camera. After the picture was taken, Harry gave her a brief hug and thanks before he ran back over to take possession of his camera once more.

They said their goodbyes and Nick put his hand on Harry's back to guide him through the Egyptian Ministry of Magic. While they walked through, Harry was looking around in fascination and was noticing the vast differences between this Ministry of Magic and the one in Britain. While the British Ministry was impressive, the dark colors and large gold statue at its entrance made it feel somewhat ominous, but this Ministry was all about light earthen colors, stone walls with elaborate paintings all along them, and expansive windows that looked out onto the city of Cairo. It was a big difference and Harry found that he liked the more relaxed state of things here than the opulence of the Ministry back home.

As they stepped outside, Harry was grateful for the clothes that Nell had set out for him to wear that morning because the sun was blazing and, though the heat was dry, it was still much hotter than he was used to. He had barely gotten a look around at the clearly magical section of Cairo before they were across the street from the Ministry and walking into the The Sleepy Sphynx Inn.

When they entered the room they would be staying in for the next week, a small creature that came up to Harry's waste, with an over-sized head and eyes the size of tennis balls, popped in and began putting away all of their clothes and things. Upon seeing it, Harry nearly jumped out of his skin but calmed down when Nick told him all about house elves and their roles in wizarding society.

Once Nell had changed into something more comfortable, the three made their way out of the inn, down the street, and through the large archway that had a large statue of a man with the head of a jackal holding a spear on either side of it which served as the gateway between the magical and non-magical world. On the other side, Harry turned and saw a blank stone wall set in between two columns where they had just passed through. When he looked around, he noticed that people walking by wouldn't come within about 5 feet of the wall and he even saw a few go out of their way to step around the area but it didn't seem like they realized they were doing it.

Khan el-Khalili was their first stop, where Nick got Harry to try a dish called Ful, which, once he got over the spiciness of the chili powder Nick had suggested he add to it, he found to be quite good. Nell made sure that they stopped by one of the stalls to purchase a few bottles of her favorite blue lotus scented Attar and Harry made the mistake of sticking his nose right up to the edge of the bottle when she held it out for him to smell and promptly began sneezing from the strongly scented oil. Once he had gotten himself under control again she made him hold still and wafted the bottle a little under and away from his nose and he decided that it did smell rather nice, though he couldn't fathom what she would use it for.

The rest of the day after lunch was spent at the Egyptian Museum and by the time they had eaten dinner and gotten back to the inn Harry was exhausted and extremely grateful for the sun protection cream Nell had slathered all over his exposed arms, face, and neck as well as the potion Nick had made him take that kept him from getting too hot and dehydrated. He had seen dozens of tourists walking around with massive sunburns and sweating like crazy and was glad he didn't have to worry about that.

The next few days were a blur of activity and adventures for the young boy.

While going through a magical tour of the Giza Necropolis, he saw and made sure to take plenty of photos of the skeletons that had grown extra heads and/or limbs due to curses placed on the various tombs to keep out thieves. At one point, he could have sworn he saw a lions tail disappear around the corner of a restricted passage but Nell pulled him away before he could even contemplate attempting to investigate the possible Sphinx sighting further. They also came across a fairly young red haired chap named Bill, who was working on breaking through said curses to get into one of the ancient tombs and he and the Flamels ended up having a long chat about ancient runes and the like before he offered to show them around some of the more interesting areas.

Harry got a big surprise when they traveled to Alexandria and actually visited the Ancient Library of Alexandria. Apparently, when it was first built, it was done so with both a magical and non-magical side. However, in 48 BC, during the Siege of Alexandria, when Julius Caesar ordered his troops to set fire to their own ships, the fire became uncontrollable and spread to the docks before making its way towards the library. When the magical Librarians saw that it was in danger they cast a protection ward that surrounded the library in its entirety, therefore saving both sides, before then casting a wide area non-magical repelling charm to hide the library until it was safe to reveal it again, which they did about 20 years later.

In 273 AD, the Librarians were forced to also hide it during the taking of the city by the Emperor Aurelian and then again in 391 AD when Patriarch Pope Theophilus of Alexandria ordered its destruction shortly after paganism was made illegal by the Emperor Theodosius. By the time 642 AD rolled around and Alexandria was captured by the Muslim army of 'Amr ibn al-'As and Caliph Umar also ordered that the library be destroyed, the Librarians hid it for the final time and determined that it would remain hidden from non-magicals until they believe they were ready for its return.

According to Nell, one must have several masteries in order to become a Librarian because those with the title actually travel all over the world looking for lost works and so forth to bring back to the library for safekeeping and over the years it had become the largest source of knowledge in the world, both magical and non.

Though his first time swimming in the ocean was fun, Harry enjoyed exploring the International Warlock Convention and seeing all of the different witches and wizards walking around. An older wizard from India had a stall with dozens of different sized carpets displayed and though Harry thought they looked very pretty and elaborate, he was stunned and gazed at them with new interest when he found out that they were actually flying carpets. At seeing the child's look of disappointment as Nell told him they couldn't get one because it was illegal to own them in Britain, the man was nice enough to let them fly around the area on an older looking carpet for a bit before they moved on.

While reading through one of the books on Egyptian magical history he had picked up, Harry was intrigued to find out that the British Ministry of Magic very nearly started a war with Egypt around the 1700s and asked Nick about it.

"Well, back in about 1728 I believe, a dark wizard who was suspected of killing several British witches and wizards fled when confronted by the Aurors and led them on a merry chase all the way through France, Italy, and Greece before finally stopping in Egypt. Despite having permission to pursue the suspected criminal, when the British Minister attempted to send not only his Aurors, but also a large group of Dementors, into Egypt to capture him, the Egyptian Ministry reacted quite badly.

"You see Harry, in ancient times, the Egyptians believed in an eternal afterlife which would reflect their life here on earth. They believed that once they died, their soul would be judged and should they pass judgement, they would be allowed to move on into an eternal life of bliss. But if they failed, their soul would cease to exist and many witches and wizards today still hold firm to those beliefs. So, when they found that the British Ministry would dare attempt to send what they consider monstrosities into their land, it appalled and angered them greatly."

Seeing that Harry was still a bit confused, he elaborated further.

"You remember what we told you about Dementors when we explained about Azkaban?" He asked and continued when Harry nodded. "Well, because they still believe in the eternal afterlife and that they must pass through judgement to attain it, the very idea of using a creature such as a Dementor to suck out the souls of their people, or anyone for that matter, disgusts them. It is believed that once Dementors kiss someone, they devour and destroy that soul, thereby robbing that person of the opportunity to be properly judged when they pass on."

"But if they're guilty…" Harry began but stopped as Nick shook his head.

"That's just it Harry," He said gently. "Humans are not perfect, no matter how much we think we might be, and there are thousands upon thousands of examples throughout history that support that. It is because of this that the Egyptians didn't, and still don't, believe that mere mortals have the right or ability to accurately judge whether a soul should be destroyed or not."

Harry seemed to be deep in thought after that revelation and Nick left him to reflect on it in peace.

OoOoOoO

The most interesting, as well as terrifying, event during their entire trip happened on their 3rd day in. It was getting late and they were headed towards the exit of the convention when they passed by a large tent, that Nick had told Harry later was actually called a tipi when Harry had pointed it out earlier in the day, which had all manner of jewelry and trinkets displayed outside of it.

An old Native American woman wearing animal skins and had feathers in her long black hair was sitting in an old rocking chair and when she looked up from the book she was reading, she took one look at Harry and cried out in shock before standing up and making her way quickly towards them.

Nick and Nell pulled their wands, ready to protect Harry, but paused when the woman stopped about a foot away and simply raised her hand to run a finger down his scar, muttering to herself all the while. She pulled away suddenly, as if she had been burned and turned to the Flamels with fear and anger in her eyes.

"What do you see?" Nell asked with growing concern.

The woman looked around before motioning for them to follow her. "Come inside, this is not for others to hear."

She led them through the entrance of the tipi, which was a great deal larger than the outside, and down a hallway before stopping at one of the many doors. She knocked sharply on it and waited impatiently for a younger man to open it. She whispered rapidly into his ear and Harry saw his eyes widen in surprise before he pushed past them and ran farther down the hall knocking on certain doors as he went.

Nick and Nell were looking increasingly worried as they were all led back towards the main room and directed to sit on the cushions that surrounded a large fire situated directly below the opening at the top of the tipi. When Nell tried to sit Harry in between her and Nick, the old woman grabbed him gently and directed him to the cushion on Nell's left instead, before she went to sit diagonally across from them.

"I think it would be best if we wait for everyone to get here before I explain what is going on." The woman began as she sat. "My name is Althea Bearheart and I am the head medicine woman of our tribe. Please feel free to call me Althea."

Nick bowed his head slightly. "My name is Nicolas Flamel, this is my wife Perenelle and our adoptive son Harry Potter. You may call us Nick and Nell if you like."

Althea's eyes widened a bit as she looked at Harry once again. "Tell me Mr. Potter, have you ever had any pains or odd feelings from your scar?"

Harry tilted his head to the side in confusion before turning to Nell with a questioning look.

"It's all right sweetheart, try to answer any questions as best as you can." She said and gave him an encouraging smile as she fought back the fear of why Althea would be asking him about his scar. When Harry turned back to face the old witch, Nell reached over and grasped Nick's hand tightly in hers and was comforted somewhat when he gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Harry is fine ma'am and no, I've never had any problems with it." He responded.

She gave a satisfied nod of her head as two men and a younger woman walked into the room and began taking seat around them. The last to enter was a man that looked even older than Althea and though he was a bit hunched, he did not seem frail. As he began walking towards where the family of three were sitting, Harry could feel a soothing sort of power radiating from him.

When he was finally situated right next to Harry, Althea introduced them and the man turned to him and gave him a large smile. "Greetings Harry, I am Gabriel Eaglefeather. You may, of course, call me Gabriel. "

As Harry looked up and locked onto the golden eyes of Gabriel, he found himself frozen, unable to look away. The golden orbs seemed to glow brighter and brighter until he thought that he would go blind with the intensity of it, but he couldn't find the strength to even blink, let alone break the connection and before he realized what was happening, Harry felt his whole body go limp and weightless. For what felt like an eternity he floated there in the brightness, consumed by the warmth and radiance, until something grabbed his hand and began pulling him up and up, high into the air, higher than he had ever been.

When he opened his eyes, Harry was back in the tipi, being held up by Nell and still gazing up into the face of Gabriel.

"How are you feeling Harry?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"There was an endless sky and I could feel the wind flowing all around and through me as I flew for miles and miles." He sighed happily. "It was great."

Gabriel laughed as Nell helped Harry to sit up straight again.

"What just happened?" She asked, trying to keep her anger in check once she saw that Harry was indeed fine.

"I apologize Mrs. Flamel. As a Shaman, I have a certain affinity for spirits and one of my jobs is to assist those who wish to delve within themselves to find their spirit animal. While I have perfected my ability, I must admit that it is rare to find someone that falls so easily into the trance but once I realized what was happening, I felt it best to let him complete the vision. According to what he experienced, should Harry ever choose to attempt the animagus transformation, he will find a bird form with the ability to take to the skies waiting for him."

"You mean I'll really get to fly?" Harry asked excitedly.

He had about peed his pants in fright one day when he and Nell were flying around and just as he had landed, a giant wolf came striding out of the woods. Next thing he knew, the wolf transformed into Nick and Harry's mind exploded. The rest of the evening was spent telling him all about animagi and getting to see Nell transform into a large red fox, who then began playfully chasing Harry all around the yard.

"I have no doubt that you would but you must still go through the training for it like everybody else." Gabriel replied. "I would recommend reflecting more on the vision you had to see if you can pick up any defining characteristics that might tell you what type of bird it is and begin studying various types of birds and their anatomy. Knowing more about your form can help with the transformation once you get to that point."

"Wow." Harry whispered and looked up at Nick and Nell with a pleading expression. Being able to fly without a broom had been beyond brilliant and he couldn't wait to be able to do it again.

"We had already planned on teaching you if you wanted to learn it Harry." Nick said. "But it will be a few years before you will be ready to try it."

"Very good. Now, I don't mean to turn such a fun conversation sour but I believe Althea had some rather disturbing news for us." Gabriel stated and turned to the old woman. "After coming into contact with Harry's spirit I think I know what it is you are going to say but would you please tell us all what it is you saw?"

She gave a sharp nod and declared without preamble, "There is a soul fragment buried beneath his scar."

This news brought gasps from all of the adults in the room, except Gabriel, and the young woman next to Althea began rocking back and forth with her head bowed while muttering under her breath. Nell nearly crushed Nick's hand as she squeezed it even tighter, though he hardly noticed this as he stared at Althea in shock.

"Are you sure?" He asked once he had gotten himself under control.

"I have the ability to see magic as well as auras and I am telling you with the utmost certainty that young Harry has a piece of another's soul embedded just beneath the skin behind his scar."

"But how…" Nell began but sucked in her breath and turned to Nick. "Voldemort?"

He nodded gravely. "He does seem the type to resort to such measures and it would explain some of the things we have heard over the years."

Nell turned her attention back to Althea. "You said beneath the skin. So it hasn't attempted to take him over?"

Althea shook her head. "Harry has not felt anything from the scar, which would suggest that it is simply sitting there, dormant. Even if it were to gain some semblance of consciousness, I do not think it would have the power to possess him."

Harry sat there quietly, beyond confused. As amazing as it was, why did magic have to be so mysterious and complex?

"Do you know how it might have gotten there?"

"I can only guess but I would say that it broke off from the master soul piece when Voldemort disappeared, which in itself is quite disturbing because that, and the fact that the fragment is so small, would suggest that his soul was already quite unstable due to previous separations."

"Do you mean to say that Voldemort may have created multiple Horcruxes?" Nick asked in astonishment.

Nell swatted him across the shoulder in anger. "Who cares about Voldemort right now Nicolas!?" She yelled, glaring at him. "We need to figure out how to help Harry!"

Knowing his wife's temper was not directed at him specifically, Nick didn't take offense, but merely gazed at her. Seeing the fear and worry in her eyes, he lightly caressed her cheek."I know ma chérie and we will help him in any way we can, but we must keep calm to ensure any decision we make is the right one."

At his words, Nell's anger at the situation faded somewhat and she leaned into her husband. He then wrapped his arm around her shoulders, accepting the silent apology.

Harry may not know what exactly everyone was talking about but he could see that Nell's fear was very real so he reached over and grasped her hand, hoping to help.

When Nell felt a small hand latch onto hers and give a comforting squeeze she sat up straight again and looked down at Harry, who gave her a smile. She pulled him into a hug and held on tightly to him before looking to Althea once again. "Can it be removed?"

Gabriel cleared his throat and all eyes turned to him. "That would be where I come in. Since I highly doubt Voldemort intended to plant a piece of his soul within Harry and did not complete the spell necessary to create one, I think it would be safe to assume that Harry is not an actual horcrux. Therefore, I believe that we may be able to remove the fragment via a purification ritual and then destroy it."

"You believe?"

"I am afraid that is all I can give you." Gabriel explained patiently. "Because this has never happened before, that I have heard of, most of what we come up with is going to be guess work. Should you wish to do so, you can of course ask around to see if you can find anybody else who may be able to do something about it but I don't think you want something like this being spread about."

Both Flamels paled at that thought. They had only passing knowledge regarding Horcruxes, since neither of them had ever been interested in learning how they were created, so naturally, they had never heard of a living person housing a soul or soul fragment inside them before without said person giving permission first. If the wrong people found out that Harry had a piece of Voldemort's soul anywhere near him, they may panic and decide to destroy it without bothering to remove it first.

"What would we need to do?" Nell all but whispered

"You and your husband will not have a very big part to play in the ritual I'm afraid but Harry would need to completely understand what it is that is happening as well as why the soul piece needs to be removed. The purification ritual is used to extract negative foreign bodies from both the physical and spiritual forms. While I and my people attempt to pull it from him, Harry will need to help push the fragment from his body during the ritual."

Once they finally got back to their room at the inn, Nick and Nell sat Harry down and explained to him everything they knew about Horcruxes and how they were considered the darkest of magic because they required the act of committing murder to create one as well as stepped him through what they were told regarding the ritual in the morning. Though he didn't really need more of a reason to want such an evil thing out of him, learning that the deaths of his parents would have helped cause Voldemort's soul to fracture and latch onto him, Harry was incensed and couldn't wait for tomorrow.

Waking up at 4:30 in the morning wasn't Harry's idea of fun but when he remembered why it was needed, he rose without complaint. After a shower, the three sat down to a large but quick breakfast of nothing but fruits and vegetables. As part of the preparation for the ritual, Harry wasn't supposed to eat or drink anything but foods that Gabriel had told them were considered 'purifying' and so he wasn't even allowed to take his morning potion, which was just as well, since it tasted revolting.

When it had been described to him, Harry had thought that the ritual sounded pretty simple but once they arrived back at the convention area at 5:00AM and stepped through the entrance of the large tipi, he found that he was very wrong.

The next hour was spent in a small room, with a circle etched into the floor that had all manner of symbols painted in white within it, where Harry was stripped of his clothes, though thankfully was allowed to keep his underwear on, and rubbed down from head to toe with an oily concoction that made him tingle all over and feel very relaxed. He was then made to stand perfectly still while Gabriel wrote symbols all over him using a brush, which Harry was told was made from the hair of a Unicorn foal when he asked about the golden bristles. Once that was done it was nearing 6:00AM and Harry was given a relatively clear potion to drink before he was laid down in the center of the circle.

"All right Harry, I am going to numb your forehead so that I can open up your scar, which we are hoping will allow us to more easily extract the soul piece ok?" Althea asked, bending over him slightly.

Harry nodded his head and, despite the numbing charm, readied himself to feel pain as she brought a silver knife up and cut a jagged line on his forehead. All he felt, however, was the slight pressure of the knife biting into his flesh for a few moments before she pulled it away.

"Now, we are about to start the ritual and when it begins you may feel some discomfort throughout your body. This is completely normal and so you need not worry about it. As the ritual builds however, you will begin to feel pressure, and probably even pain, as we begin to remove the soul piece but no matter how much it might hurt, we will need you to continuously try to push the piece out of your scar and not stop until we tell you to." She explained as she moved back to her spot, just outside of the circle.

Harry nodded again as he looked around himself nervously. There were 7 people total that stood around the circle, ready to begin the ritual, and though he did not really understand when Nell mentioned 7 being the most powerful magical number and that was why there were so many people there, he chose to simply accept it and take all the help he could get. Both Flamels, not being able to assist with the ritual, were standing near the wall behind everyone else and holding onto each other tightly for support.

They started just as the sun rose over the horizon. Gabriel began to chant, his deep voice resonating throughout the room and seeming to come to rest deep within Harry, and the others soon joined him.

At first, Harry only felt a slight prickling sensation along his arms, legs, and stomach but that was bearable and he tried to relax and focus on the chanting, which had begun to rise in strength. No more than two minutes after the ritual had started, Harry felt a brief shooting pain pierce his scar and though he kept himself from crying out, his head jerked violently to the side. He had barely been able to recover from the surprise pain when it returned a few seconds later and then faded again. It continued to do this for several minutes, as if the soul piece were pulsing, before the pain rose again and became constant.

It seemed as if the more he pushed, the more it hurt, but Harry was determined to remove this monstrosity from inside him so continued. He did not realize when he began screaming but he did manage to keep from convulsing on the floor through sheer force of will. Just when the pain was becoming unbearable and he was in danger of passing out, Harry abruptly felt it lessen somewhat. Thinking that this must be a good thing, he focused on it with all his might and pushed harder.

Slowly, the pain began to ebb away until Harry could barely feel it anymore and thought that it was finally over. He was about ready to let out a sigh of relief when suddenly, a white hot jolt of agony passed through his entire being and the last thing he remembered before everything went black was a small white speck of shining light hovering above him.

Nick was a bundle of nerves all throughout the morning as they were preparing Harry to undergo the ritual but he managed to keep it well hidden from the young boy. His wife, however, knew him too well and tried to offer what comfort she could while also being almost sick with worry. They held on tightly to each other as the time grew nearer and they hoped it would all be over quickly.

When Harry began screaming in pain, Nick had to strengthen his hold on Nell as she made to run towards him and by the time things started to seem like they were settling down, both Flamels had tears running down their faces at having to listen to the suffering Harry was going through and not being able to help him.

A pulse of magic went through each of them as the soul piece was finally ejected from Harry's scar and as much as they hated it, Nick and Nell still could not go to him. Gabriel wasted no time in slamming his staff down on the ground and shouting out an incantation that they didn't understand, causing a translucent golden sphere to encircle the soul fragment, which looked to be jerking around erratically, trying to find someplace to go.

Everyone that had stood around the circle took a step back, except for Gabriel and his apprentice, Brayden Thunderhawk. They both began to chant in earnest once again and a near tangible power soon began swirling around them. When it seemed like the power would crush them with the utter intensity of it, Gabriel brought his staff up and down, striking the sphere hard, closely followed by Brayden doing the same. They continued to do this and as the fourth blow hit, a scream could be heard emanating from the soul piece before it vanished completely, leaving the magical sphere empty.

"It is done." Had barely left Gabriel's lips when Nick and Nell flew across the room and knelt down beside Harry. Nell promptly began casting every diagnostic charm she knew, which was admittedly few considering she only ever studied basic healing and first aid, and just about sobbed in relief when they all read that Harry was alive but unconscious. Other than his scar bleeding, he had no other marks on him that they could see.

"If I may?" Althea asked as she knelt beside them, holding several potions. She set them down and began casting her own charms on the boy before reaching for one of the potions, explaining as she administered it. "This is for the muscle strain he went through and should help keep him from cramping up." She grabbed two more. "And these are for the physical and magical exhaustion, which is why he is currently unconscious. He most likely will not wake up until late this evening or early tomorrow morning, at which point we can get a better reading on how he is actually feeling."

Harry awoke the next morning around 8 o'clock, feeling tired and achy all over. His memory of the day before was a bit fuzzy and Nick and Nell were rather glad that he didn't remember the tremendous pain he had obviously been through. They had all stayed with Gabriel and his tribe so that Harry would be close to Althea and her apprentice, Sophia Littledove, in case he took a turn for the worse.

"So it worked?" He asked groggily as Althea checked the bandage on his head. The wound was healed but she said the paste that she kept applying should help lighten the scar.

"It certainly did young one, though it did take much more out of you than we originally thought it would. Are you sure you are feeling all right?" She inquired.

"Yes, I feel a little lighter, as if a weight has been lifted off of me."

She nodded her head sagely. "That makes sense and I am glad that there is nothing else wrong with you. Now, you rest and in a few hours you should be good to get up and walk around. I will let Nick and Nell know to bring you back here tonight so I can run a check-up scan and then again tomorrow night just to be sure."

"Ah, he is awake! Welcome back Harry." Gabriel said as he came in, followed by Nick and Nell, and came to sit on one side of Harry's bed while his guardians sat on the other. Despite Althea's muttering about him needing to rest, Harry, Gabriel, and the Flamels spent the rest of the morning and lunchtime talking about Gabriel's tribe and Harry's short time with his new family.

That afternoon Nick and Nell took him to the Egyptian Centre for Alchemical Studies where he discovered just how old his new adoptive parents were. It was quite the shock when Nick was asked to make a last minute presentation regarding his studies on the Philospher's Stone and him mentioning briefly how he, with his wife's help, had found how to successfully create one. Nell apologized afterwards for him finding out that way, saying that they had meant to tell him at a later date when everything had settled down but Harry didn't mind one bit and thought it was pretty amazing.

Their last day in Egypt was filled with relaxation since Althea didn't want him doing anything too strenuous and before they knew it, the family of three were back sitting around the large fire and speaking to Gabriel, Althea, both of their apprentices, and Gabriel's son Ryker Swiftcrow.

"Well, I must say that it was a great honor meeting you young Harry." Gabriel said and handed him a small box.

Harry opened the box enthusiastically, once he had made sure it was ok for him to accept it, to find a leather necklace with what looked like a shrunken eagle feather dangling from it. When he touched the feather, Harry felt a soothing sort of contentment wash over him, much like he felt the first time he had met the old wizard.

"If ever you feel afraid or angry, simply grab the feather and focus your mind on the feelings it emits and it will help calm you."

"Thank you." Harry whispered as he put the necklace on. "But I don't have anything to give you."

"That is quite all right. It is a part of our culture to give a part of ourselves to those we meet and grow to like. If you do wish to repay the gift though, perhaps once you perfect your spiritual form, you might come visit our tribe and you and I can soar through the skies together." Gabriel said and before he could even blink, Harry was looking at a large eagle and he could swear the eagle was laughing at him.

OoOoOoO

The surprise visit to Uganda to tour the Uagadou School of Magic rounded off the vacation perfectly.

Learning that the students there were taught how to become animagi early on and that most could transform by the age of 14 excited him beyond belief because it gave him a timeframe to work with and meant that if he tried hard enough, he could be flying in his bird form by his fourth year. Nick made sure to ask if they would be willing to send him and Nell any notes they could provide in regards to best practices when learning how to become an animagus and Deputy Headmaster Umoja, who was giving them the tour, readily agreed to speak to their Transfiguration Professors about it.

Being visited by a Dream Messenger, who would mysteriously leave a token in the hand of the child who was being accepted into the school sounded so much more interesting than simply receiving an owl with a letter but this did nothing to dull Harry's excitement of receiving his own Hogwarts letter, even if he already knew he would be attending. Deputy Headmaster Umoja even gave him one of the tokens, a stone about the size of his fist inscribed with all kinds of different runes, they would normally leave with the future students as a souvenir of his visit.

Their tour ended out on the large open meadow that sat just below the magnificent edifice carved into the mountainside. There was a forest surrounding the perimeter of the meadow and several greenhouses stood to the right of the stairway that served as the school's entrance. Harry walked into the center of the meadow, admiring all of the different types of flowers that haphazardly covered it in its entirety, before turning around to admire the giant building.

When they had come in that morning the mountainside had been shrouded in mist, making it seem like the school was floating in mid-air, and as cool as that was, it could not compare to the beauty that currently sat before him. With the sun shining down and reflecting off of the many windows that helped make the inside feel more open, the entire mountainside seemed to glow a brilliant gold. Harry brought up his camera and took the last picture of their amazing trip.

* * *

 **A/N:** So this was my favorite chapter to write so far and I thought it was a lot of fun to go into some of the history of Egypt as well as delve into the magical world a little more in regards to traveling to different countries. Hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did!


	6. Will This Summer Never End?

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **A/N:** So this one topped out at 11,500 words, mostly because I wanted to go ahead and just finish up the summer. In the future I plan on chapters being anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 but... no promises :P

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** The Flamels take Harry to Cairo, Egypt where the International Warlock Convention is being held and Harry learns all about Egyptian history. During their stay they are confronted by a Native American medicine woman about the scar on Harry's forehead and she and her tribe offer to have the soul piece that has attached itself to him removed via a cleansing ritual. Toward the end of their vacation they take a portkey to Uganda where they tour the Uagadou School of Magic before heading home.

* * *

Harry didn't think that he would ever be as excited as he was on the morning they had headed to Egypt but as he awoke on his birthday with the sun shining through the window and Alcmene stretched over his stomach, he realized just how wrong he was.

Nell had asked him if he wanted her to invite some of the children of the families that lived nearby because apparently, quite a few wizarding families lived in Devon around the small non-magical village, Ottery St. Catchpole and all of them currently had children that would be attending Hogwarts with Harry, but only one would be in the same year as him. Harry was eager to meet at least one or two kids his age before he got to Hogwarts, so agreed to her sending out invitations and although it had been rather last minute, they received positive answers back from the Weasleys, the Lovegoods, and the Diggorys.

So here he lay, on his 11th birthday, anxiously anticipating his first party and just as he put his glasses on and was about to get up, a soft knock on his door stopped him. "Come in." He said and started to pet Alcmene, who had awoken at the noise.

Nick opened the door, stepped in, and held it open for Nell, who was carrying a large tray of all of his favorite breakfast foods and both began singing him happy birthday as they approached. Harry sat up in bed with a large smile on his face and when Nell set the tray on his lap, Alcmene moving out of the way with an indignant growl, he noticed a small cupcake with a candle set off to the side.

After they had finished the song, Harry scrunched his eyes closed, made a wish, and blew out the candle. Nick and Nell clapped their hands and each gave him a big hug.

"We know you will get a regular cake and another song at your party but we wanted to make your first birthday morning with us special." Nell said sitting down on one side of his bed while Nick went to the other.

"This is great." Harry said, getting chocked up. He thought he had gotten that under control. "Thank you so much."

Nick ruffled his hair. "You're welcome Harry. Now, what did you wish for?"

Nell swatted him on the arm playfully. "You know he's not supposed to tell or else it won't come true."

Harry laughed with them but wasn't sure if Nell was telling the truth or not so he decided to keep the fact that he had wished to do well at school so that they would be proud of him to himself, just to be safe.

Both Flamels stayed with Harry as he ate his breakfast, secretly passing bits of bacon and sausage to Alcmene when they weren't looking, just talking to him and asking him if he was excited for the party. When he was done, Nick took the tray from him so he could get up and start getting ready for the day.

The party was set to start at 11:00AM and Nick and Nell were both busy trying to get everything organized. While Nell was cooking the food for lunch and baking Harry's cake, Nick was outside setting up the decorations and Harry was running around attempting to catch one of the fake snitches that they had conjured and charmed to fly low around the front yard, since they wouldn't let him help set up.

At 10 o'clock, as Nick was enlarging their picnic table to fit all of their guests, Harry caught site of two figures flying in on broomsticks. He ran over to Nick and pointed up at them. Nick frowned slightly in confusion since the party wasn't set to start for another hour and began walking over to the right side of the house, where it looked like their visitors would land.

As they got nearer, Harry could see that it was a man and what appeared to be his daughter. The man had shoulder length white hair and wore dark orange robes while his daughter, who was sitting side-saddle on her broom, had long dirty blonde hair and was wearing a bright yellow skirt with a light blue top.

A few minutes later and they had landed right in front of Nick, who held out his hand in greeting, "Hello. Mr. Lovegood I presume?"

"Yes, but please call me Xeno." He replied shaking Nick's hand and then put an arm around the girl's shoulders. "And this is my daughter Luna."

"It's very nice to meet you both. Please feel free to call me Nick." Said Nick and turned slightly to Harry. "And this is Harry of course."

Harry stepped forward and shook both of their hands. "Hello. Thank you for coming to my party." He was immensely grateful that neither of them stared at him or looked at his forehead to try and find his scar.

"Thank you for inviting us." Xeno said, looking around them. "Are we early?"

Nick coughed slightly. "I'm afraid so, about an hour early actually, but that is perfectly fine. I can take you inside and introduce you to Nell while Harry and Luna get to know each other if you would like."

Xeno looked perplexed. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought the invitation said 11:00."

"Er… it did. It's still 10:00." Nick said, checking his watch to make sure.

"Is it now? I could have sworn our clock said something different." Xeno still looked confused for a second before his face lit up in excitement and he turned to Luna. "What do you think pumpkin, could be the Twigly Jimbles are at it again."

Luna nodded as she gazed dreamily around her. "You probably forgot to set out the dragon milk again daddy. You know how upset they get when they don't get their dragon milk."

Nick and Harry exchanged looks before Nick stepped forward a bit. "Well, you're here now and more than welcome to stay until the party starts. Xeno, if you'll follow me I'll take you inside for a cup of tea." He said and turned to Harry. "Can you put their brooms up for them Harry? Then maybe you can show Luna around."

Harry nodded and went to grab both of their brooms. "Follow me." He said to Luna and then began making his way around the back of the house and across the large vegetable/fruit garden, to the broom shed.

Luna followed him across the yard, looking around interestedly. "You have a very pretty home."

Harry looked back at her and smiled. "Um… thanks, but it's not really mine. Nick and Nell have owned it for ages though, about 580 years in fact."

Luna's eyes widened in shock. Her father had told her that the Flamels were old, but to a child of 10, old usually meant 30 or 40. She was sure her father was inside right that minute, asking the couple all about the elusive creatures they were always searching for. With being as old as they were, surely the Flamels had seen at least one.

When Luna didn't say anything to that, Harry turned back around and took the last few steps to the broom shed. Upon opening the door to put their guests brooms up, Luna let out a gasp from behind him.

"There are so many." She exclaimed and stepped forward for a closer look. The shed was obviously charmed to be larger on the inside and it held a large amount of different brooms on either side of it, each one set securely on its own rack.

Harry stood tall as he prepared himself to tell her what he himself had only found out a few days ago. He remembered quite clearly stepping into the shed and his jaw nearly hitting the floor when he saw all of the brooms on display, before that, it had always been Nick or Nell that would fetch the brooms and put them back up. "These are all the brooms that Nick and Nell have owned over the years. The first 8 are ones that Nell made herself using the knowledge of that specific time period. This one here," He explained, pointing to an old Cleansweep 1, "was one of the first ever racing brooms. While Nell still enjoys creating her own from time to time, the majority of the ones from around 1920 on are racing brooms she has bought over the years."

"These are incredible." Luna whispered, her dreamy expression turned to admiration as she examined each broom.

"Yeah, most of them are pretty uncomfortable though. Nell said that the cushioning charm that is present on all brooms today wasn't created until sometime in the 1800s, so it was hard to ride them for long periods of time before that." Harry said and set their brooms on a couple of empty racks near the door. "Want me to show you around or would you like to look at the brooms some more?"

"We can walk around. I'd like to see what else they might have." She replied and stepped out of the shed so Harry could close the door.

"I could show you the fairy fountain first if you want. They are pretty fun to play with even if they do try to braid my hair nearly every time they see me."

Luna looked at him with a big smile. "You have fairies?"

"Yeah, we have a bunch of them. Come on." He replied and led her to the front of the house.

When they got there, Luna let out a small squeal of delight and nearly started to run over to the fairies but she stopped herself since she didn't want to scare them. Her mother had always taken her into the woods near their house to watch and play with the fairies and Luna hadn't been to their favorite spot since her mother had passed. At that thought, she suddenly stopped several feet away from the fountain and a sad look came over her face.

Harry paused beside her, curious as to why she had stopped when she had been so excited just moments before, and saw the look on her face. "What's wrong Luna?"

"My mum loved fairies. She used to take me with her to play with them, especially when I was feeling down about something." She said softly and her eyes teared up a bit.

Harry looked around frantically for an adult, he didn't know how to handle crying girls, but he turned back to Luna when he heard her sniffle. Tears had begun to fall and she turned to the side to wipe them away, trying not to let him see.

Feeling sorry for her, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the handkerchief Nell had told him to make sure he always carried with him and tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned to him he held it out for her and she gave him a watery smile as she took it from him.

"I'm sorry." She said as she wiped her eyes.

"It's ok, I understand." At least, he thought he did. Even though he had never gotten to know his parents, he still felt their loss. He thought back to the day, not so very long ago, at the Dursley's when Nick and Nell had told him how they had really died. It had come as a severe shock and somehow felt like he had lost them all over again.

He gave her a couple of minutes to get control of herself and then gently grabbed her hand to begin pulling her towards the fountain once more. "Come on."

"What are you doing?" She asked, resisting him a bit.

He hoped he was doing this right. "You're feeling down so I am taking you to play with the fairies." He replied, looking at her nervously for the go ahead.

She stared at him for a good 30 seconds before a small smile lit her face and she began walking with him the rest of the way.

As soon as they stopped in front of the fountain, the fairies swarmed both of them. They began playing with Luna's hair and skirt while pulling on Harry's hair and sitting on his glasses so they could bend over them and look at themselves upside down.

Luna giggled beside him and brought her free hand up for the fairies to rest on. It was then that Harry realized that they were still holding hands and he blushed deeply but didn't let go lest he hurt her feelings.

"Thank you Harry. It's been hard without her here this past year." She all but whispered.

"You're welcome and I'm sorry about your mum. Do you…" He hesitated. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Luna was silent for a long time. So long, that Harry was just about to suggest a different topic when she finally spoke up.

So they spent the hour before their other guests were to arrive talking all about Luna's family. She told him how her mum was a very brilliant witch who loved experimenting with and creating new spells. How she made the best hot chocolate and cinnamon biscuits on those rainy days that Luna couldn't go out and play. How her dad was the editor of The Quibbler, a magazine that featured articles about all kinds of amazing creatures, and how he would even let her help him write his articles from time to time. Then she told him about how her mum had died last June, when one of her spells backfired, that she was with her in her last few minutes and how she was glad she got to be with her mum in the end even if it made her sad to think about.

While she was talking, the fairies were busy braiding her long hair in an elaborate style and then took it upon themselves to gather flowers to decorate it with. Luna didn't mind one bit and despite the somber ending to her story, she seemed to feel much better by the time she was done and was back to her dreamy self in no time.

Nick, who had come back outside earlier to finish setting up and chose not to bother them, came over about 10 minutes before 11:00 to let them know that people would probably start arriving soon.

Luna pulled a small flat rectangular brightly wrapped present out of her pocket and asked Nick to cancel the shrinking charm on it. Once he had done so, she walked over to the table that had been set up for presents and added hers to the pile.

"You didn't have to get me a present Luna." Harry said walking up behind her. He had asked Nell to mention in the invitations that they didn't need to bring presents since nobody really knew him very well and because it was so last minute, he didn't want anyone to worry about it.

Nell had known that everyone coming would probably bring one anyway, especially considering who Harry was, but did as he wished. He had blushed tremendously when she had told him that it was a very mature thing to do and she was very proud of him for being so considerate of others.

"I wanted to. Besides, I didn't really have to spend anything on it."

"Well thank you. I really appreciate it."

Before she could respond there was a ruckus coming from the front door and they turned just in time to see a group of red heads come spilling out of the house and making their way across the front lawn.

Harry was introduced to Mrs. Molly Weasley first and then came the obvious twins Fred and George, Ron, and Ginny. While the boys were all enthusiastic in their greetings, once they got over their staring, Ginny was rather quiet and turned scarlet when he greeted her.

They talked for a bit and just as Mrs. Weasley angrily confiscated some sweets that the twins were trying to offer Harry, two more people came to join them, having just floo'ed in, and introduced themselves as Mrs. Victoria Diggory and her son Cedric.

Everyone was talking animatedly when Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Diggory noticed Nell starting to bring food and drinks out of the house and they excused themselves to lend a hand. Before she left though, Mrs. Weasley bent down and whispered something in Ginny's ear, who nodded and took the obvious present that her mum handed her.

As her mum disappeared into the house Ginny stepped forward until she was standing right in front of Harry. "Here H…Harry, this is from all of us." She mumbled and blushed furiously again as she handed him the present.

Harry smiled widely and took it from her. "Thank you Ginny, you guys didn't have to get me anything though, I know this was all really last minute."

"Nonsense Harry," Cedric began as he came up behind Ginny, "It would have been very rude if we hadn't brought anything and besides, after what you did for us, it's the least we can do." And he handed Harry the present they had brought.

A deep blush spread across Harry's face and he went to set the presents down on the table as he tried to get it under control and had managed pretty well by the time he got back to the group. "Thanks Cedric, but Nick and Nell told me that they think it might have been something my mum did before she died that caused Voldemort's," They all flinched at the name but Harry continued on, "spell to backfire so she is really the one that deserves the credit, not me. I don't remember it but I'm pretty sure I probably just sat there not doing anything considering I was just a 1 year old at the time."

"You said his name." Ron whispered incredulously.

"Well yeah, Nick told me that people have a hard time saying his name nowadays but I didn't even learn about him until just last month." Harry said and shrugged. "Sorry if it makes you uncomfortable but Nick and Nell don't have a problem calling him by his name so if they aren't afraid to do it then I'm not going to be afraid either."

They all looked at him in wonder, except Luna, who was playing with the hare charm attached to her silver bracelet, and just when it seemed like the uncomfortable silence was becoming unbearable she looked up and spoke, "Ginny, do you want to go play with the fairies? Maybe they will braid your hair for you like they did me."

Ginny gave a small sigh of relief, quickly nodded her head, and she and Luna excused themselves before they took off towards the fairy fountain, leaving the boys just standing there awkwardly.

No situation could stay that way for long when Fred and George were present however, and they soon got over their unease.

"So, Harry old chap…" Said one.

"Do you fly?" Finished the other.

This broke the tension around them like little else could and Harry laughed as he started telling them about Nell's flying lessons and some of the tricks she had recently deemed him ready to try. All five of them talked about Quidditch and flying until Nick called them all over when everything was ready.

Lunch was a boisterous affair and, though unused to so much noise, Harry enjoyed every minute of it. Nell had sat him down at the head of the table and let the children sit at one end as the adults sat at the other and Harry had to remember that there would be cake and ice-cream after this so as to not stuff himself silly with all of the great food piled in front of him.

What he thought infinitely funny, especially considering his Aunt and Uncle, was that Nick was a much better cook than Nell was, though Nell's cooking was still very good. Nick told him that he had put a considerable amount of time into learning how to cook because it both made Nell happy and it was very relaxing, much like when he was working on his potions. He had conceded to let Nell cook for Harry's birthday party because for reasons unknown, she had been extremely excited about doing it since he allowed her to invite people over to celebrate with them.

Once the enormous chocolate cake was brought out and everyone had sang Harry happy birthday Nell swished her wand and pieces started flying over and landing on the plates that appeared in front of everybody. Another twirl of her wand and 2 large bowls filled with vanilla ice-cream appeared on each end of the table along with bowls and spoons.

After everyone had eaten their fill, Ron having spectacularly consumed 3 large pieces of cake and two bowls of ice-cream, Nick cleared everything on the table and floated all of Harry's presents over to him and he excitedly reached for one.

Deciding to open the guest presents first, Harry tore the paper off of the Diggory's present and opened the box to find a handsome brown leather book bag with his name engraved in gold on the right bottom corner. Cedric, who was seated next to him on his right, showed him how the inside expanded slightly so he could comfortably fit all of his books and the separate compartments for him to put his parchment, inks, and quills to protect them from tear or breakage. To top it all off, there was a permanent feather-light charm on it so that no matter how many books he managed to fit in it, it wouldn't feel any heavier.

After admiring the bag for a bit, Harry set it gently off to the side and reached for another present. Luna's painting of the Devon countryside was passed around and admired by almost everyone, making her blush slightly at all of the praise, and the Weasley's present of homemade fudge, shortbread biscuits shaped like broomsticks, and cauldron cakes were very much appreciated and delicious.

The last 3 presents in the pile were from Nick and Nell and Harry dug into them eagerly. The first was a box of all the different sweets that Harry had showed he had enjoyed so far, the second was an assortment of different colored quills along with various bottles of glow in the dark, color changing, and his favorite scarlet colored inks. The 3rd present he had saved for last because it was obviously the biggest and Cedric had to help him clear the table in front of him a bit to fit the large rectangular wrapped present and when he finally got the wrapping paper off and opened the box, his jaw fell open in surprise.

As the twins began shouting good-naturedly for him to show them what he had got, Harry reached into the box, pulled out a brand new Nimbus 2000, and held it up for everyone to see. While most everybody around him was giving the broom a thorough visual examination, Harry noticed jealousy and anger flash across Ron's face before it cleared and he was looking at the broom in admiration, though his cheeks and ears were still slightly red.

When Harry looked to his right, he saw that Cedric was looking at Ron with disapproval and suspected that he had seen the same thing, but when Cedric turned back to look at him, he smiled widely and said, "That's a really great broom you have there Harry. Are you thinking of trying out for a house team?"

Harry tilted his head to the side in confusion. "I thought 1st years weren't allowed to play on the house teams."

"They usually aren't Harry," Nell spoke up, "because many 1st years are too small and/or don't have the strength and talent needed to play most of the positions in Quidditch so, unless they show otherwise, they are not allowed to try out. But if a student's magical guardian believes them to be able to play then they can give their permission for them to try out and I think with another months worth of practice you will be ready to do so, if you want. Though you will still need to speak to Madame Hooch and gain her permission as well."

Harry let out a whoop of joy, set down the broom, and ran over to give Nell a hug. "Thank you!" He shouted and then turned to Nick to do the same before pulling away again. "Can we go and try it out?"

Nell smiled at him automatically including the other children and, after looking around to get positive nods from the various parents, nodded her head. "I don't see why not."

Harry ran back over to pick up his broom and told the others to follow him before leading them to a small trail off the left side of the yard that led to a smaller clearing set up specifically for flying.

Once they got to the clearing all of the boys and Luna gathered excitedly, ready to await their turn to fly.

Just as he was about to take off, Harry looked around him and noticed that Ginny was standing off to the side with a sad and wistful look on her face. "What's the matter Ginny? Don't you want to come over and try out the broom too?" He asked dismounting and getting a loud groan from Ron.

"She can't fly, she's too little." He said impatiently.

Harry frowned. "That doesn't seem right. She and Luna are about the same height and Luna can fly just fine."

"He means she's too young." One of the twins said.

"Yeah, she shouldn't be flying until she is older." Said the other.

"I thought she was only a year younger than Ron." Harry said and turned to the youngest male Weasley. "How old were you when you started flying?"

"It doesn't matter, she can't fly. Now come on, I want to try out the broom."

"No, if Ginny doesn't get to try it too then nobody gets to try it. It's not fair." Harry said and looked around him. He really didn't want to upset anyone but he wasn't going to budge on his decision, he had been excluded enough times from doing fun things that he wouldn't just sit back and let it be done to someone else.

The twins looked a bit upset but they were looking back and forth from the broom to Ginny as if trying to come to a decision. Luna seemed as if she weren't even paying attention anymore and was looking up at the sky but Harry could see her lips twitching slightly as if she were fighting a smile. Cedric looked a little disappointed but gave him a small nod of understanding when he caught his eye. Ginny had a surprised but also grateful expression on her face and she gave him a shy smile as he looked her way. Ron, on the other hand, looked absolutely furious.

"Who cares if she gets to fly or not? I want to ride the broom." He nearly yelled and everybody looked at him in surprise.

Harry's frown deepened, Ron was reminding him a lot of Dudley and he didn't like it one bit. "I said no. We can all just head back to the cottage right now, unless you and your brothers change your mind about letting her fly too."

When Ron looked like he was about to actually start yelling, Harry tried a different tact. "Ron, how would you feel if everybody got to try out my new broom but we wouldn't let you take a turn?"

This actually seemed to get through to him a bit and after thinking about it for a long moment Ron took a deep breath. "You're right, I wouldn't like that either. Sorry for yelling mate. I guess Ginny can give it a shot if she really wants to."

"That's ok Ron." Harry replied, accepting the apology but deciding to keep an eye on Ron and that temper. He turned to the twins and waited for their response.

They looked at each other and after a few seconds of non-verbal conversation, both shrugged and grinned. "We are ok with it. She'll need to learn sometime." They both said at the same time.

Harry nodded, mounted his broom once more, and took off.

The rest of the party was spent flying around the small clearing, with each of them taking turns for 10 minutes each. The Weasley brothers got a big surprise when it was Ginny's turn and instead of staying to listen to the advice they were trying to give her, she just took off like a shot, flying around the clearing just as good, if not better, than Ron.

When she landed and saw their stunned faces, she giggled and admitted that she had been sneaking out of the house early in the mornings for the past year to fly around their paddock and practice. At hearing this, Fred and George got down on their knees and began bowing to her and promised that they would never exclude her from their Quidditch matches again. Ron looked a little grumpy that he was shown up by his little sister but his pride in her soon won over and he gave her a pat on the back.

All of the kids groaned in disappointment when the grown-ups came to collect their children.

Harry shook Cedric's hand as he thanked him and Mrs. Diggory profusely for the gift they had gotten him and Cedric promised to look in on him on the Hogwarts Express to make sure he got settled in. They said their goodbyes to everyone else before he grabbed his mum's hand and they Disapparated with a pop.

As they headed back towards the cottage so the Lovegoods could grab their brooms and the Weasleys could use the floo, Harry made sure to thank them for their presents too. About 10 minutes later the Flamels and Harry were standing in the quiet and empty yard, watching as Xeno and Luna flew out of sight.

Later that evening, Nick received a rather unpleasant letter from Grimstock, his account manager with Gringotts, about someone breaking into his high security vault where he had hidden the stone but breathed a sigh of relief when he was informed that the vault had already been emptied. He would need to speak with Grimstock about this tomorrow when they went to Diagon Alley.

OoOoOoO

The next day, Harry was walking through Diagon Alley with Nick and Nell getting his school supplies. His acceptance letter had been delivered while they were away on vacation and he had wanted to go immediately to get everything but Nick had convinced him to wait until after his birthday.

They had already gotten all of his books, including a few that both Flamels felt he should read in addition to his regular school texts. Even though they had not gone in to take care of the jinx on the Defense position yet, Nell had sent Dumbledore an owl the day after she had met with him about Harry, letting him know what books to include in the book list for that subject and Potions as well as for the Alchemy and Warding electives they would be offering to the NEWT students.

On top of that, they had also recommended that several new classes be added to the curriculum and even offered to donate gold to the school to cover the salaries of the new professors if needed. Dumbledore had been particularly excited about that and must have been working overtime to get everything situated because the 1st year book list had 2 more books than it normally did, which went along with the subjects, Introduction to the Wizarding World and Healing and First Aid.

Those were not the only new subjects however, just the ones that required the students to purchase a book for. The other two were Health and Wellness and Introduction to Latin, to help new students with spell pronunciation as well as spell crafting when they got older if they chose to continue it. Dumbledore had actually floo called them to get more information on the Health and Wellness class and when he found out that it would be teaching young witches and wizards how best to stay healthy he gladly accepted it.

Just as they were walking past Eeylops Owl Emporium Harry felt a strange pull on his mind and stopped. Ignoring Nick's questions, Harry walked right into the shop, made his way to the left hand wall, and stopped in front of a cage containing a beautiful snowy owl. As he stared into the large amber eyes he felt something snap into place inside his mind and was suddenly bombarded with a feeling of joy and contentment.

Nick placing his hand on his shoulder broke Harry out of his trance and he turned to look up at him. "I don't know what happened, I just felt something pulling on my mind and followed it to this owl."

Nick gave him a wide smile. "Did you stare into her eyes and feel some sort of connection take place?" When Harry nodded his smile got even bigger. "Seems like you have found yourself a true familiar."

"What's a familiar?"

"Familiars are animals that share a special attachment with certain people, for example, Alcmene would be considered Nell and I's familiar. A true familiar however, is that but also much more. The bond that develops between someone and their true familiar is considered sacred and it is actually against the law to separate a witch or wizard from their true familiar. The pull you felt was your natural connection to her and looking into her eyes allowed the bond to complete itself. You will be able to feel emotions coming from each other and as the bond strengthens you can even send each other flashes of memory. They can only bond with one person and that bond is for life, because of this, the familiars life will extend to that of the witch or wizard it is bonded to."

"I think I felt her emotions when we bonded, she seemed really happy." Harry stated, reaching up to open the cage and let her out. He could feel that she wanted to be petted.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing?" A tall man wearing an apron asked as he walked over to them, seeing Harry with his hand on the door latch of the cage.

"Sorry about that. Harry and his new familiar got a little excited and no doubt wanted to interact with each other a bit." Nick said genially as Nell helped Harry get the cage down instead, promising that he could take her out once they got outside.

"Familiar? Well I say, congratulations young man. You are quite lucky to come when you did as she just arrived here last week from our sister store located in Glasgow. We like to rotate the owls that have been at one location for too long between stores to make it easier for them to find homes." The man explained. "If you would like, I can help you pick out a few things for her and recommend a good book on how to take care of her."

"Yes please." Harry said, holding the cage tightly to his chest.

Once they had gotten everything they needed for his new owl, Harry hurried outside and across the street to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour where he set the cage down on one of the tables and opened the large door. The owl immediately jumped out of the cage and onto Harry's shoulder, wasting no time in rubbing her head on his cheek and playing with his hair.

Nick and Nell walked up with amused smiles on their faces and Nick shrunk the cage before putting it in his pocket, figuring that neither Harry nor the owl would want her back in it any time soon.

"Have you figured out a name for her?" Nell asked.

Harry didn't respond for a few moments but reached up so the owl would climb onto his forearm and then brought her down to look at and pet her. She gave a small bark of approval and Harry nodded his head. "I'm going to name her Hedwig."

He had read about Saint Hedwig, a German witch, in his History of Magic book. During the Holocaust she had risked her life smuggling numerous orphan children, both magical and non, from the country by making and using illegal Portkeys. She would then obliviate the non-magical children, erasing the knowledge of magic, and replace their memories making them believe that they had been smuggled out using non-magical means. Harry thought it had been a very brave thing to do and when everything was said and done, she had succeeded in saving the lives of over 1200 children.

"Well I think that is a wonderful name." Nell said and reached out to pet Hedwig as well.

"If you would ask her to donate one of her feathers to you Harry, we can go see Ollivander about making you a wand." Nick spoke up.

Harry gave him a questioning look. "I don't understand. I thought the wand was supposed to choose the wizard."

Nick nodded. "They usually do but since you have bonded with Hedwig here, none of the cores of the other wands would accept you anymore so we will need to have one made with one of her feathers as the core instead."

"Oh." Harry said simply and gazed at Hedwig. "What do you say girl, would you mind giving me one of your feathers for my wand?"

Hedwig screeched as a wave of delight flashed through their bond and roughly shook out her wings. When she settled herself again, Harry could see a single feather about 10 inches long laying on the ground.

"Thanks Hedwig. I know you don't want to go back in your cage so would you like to continue on shopping with us or fly back to the cottage and meet us there?" He asked as Nick bent down to pick up the feather.

A feeling of possessiveness rolling through his mind told him all he needed to know so he moved her back up to his shoulder before turning to Nick and Nell. "She wants to stay with us if that's ok."

"That's perfectly fine sweetheart." Nell responded.

Just as they turned around to start making their way to Ollivander's, a slightly pudgy boy with blond hair tripped and fell right in front of them.

"Oh Neville, can't you watch where you're going?" An old, stern looking witch wearing a hat with a vulture on it said exasperatedly as she walked up.

Harry bent down a bit to help the boy up and saw his round face was red in embarrassment. "Thanks." He murmured.

"Hello Augusta." Nick said.

The woman turned her head sharply to look at Nick and it took a second before she realized who he was. "Nick it is good to see you again. It has been a long time."

"Indeed it has. You remember my wife Nell?" He asked, noticing she had surreptitiously put up a privacy charm around them. They had been successful so far today that nobody had recognized Harry, they didn't want to jinx it.

"Of course, it is good to see you too Nell. And who is this?" She enquired, looking at Harry with a small frown.

"Ah, this is our adoptive son Harry Potter. Harry, this is Mrs. Augusta Longbottom."

Neville gave a loud gasp of surprise but Mrs. Longbottom's eyes merely widened slightly.

"It is an honor to meet you young man." She said and gestured slightly to her grandson. "This is my grandson Neville, he will be starting at Hogwarts this year as well."

"Hello Mrs. Longbottom." He replied nodding his head slightly before turning to Neville and offering his hand. "Hello Neville, you excited for Hogwarts?"

Neville needed a nudge from his grandmother before he reached out and hesitantly shook Harry's hand. "H… hi. I'm a little nervous but glad I even got accepted in."

That confused Harry a bit but before he could ask him about it, he felt a flash of displeasure and Hedwig nipped him sharply on the ear. "Ouch, ok I'm sorry." He said and rubbed his ear. "Neville, this is my familiar Hedwig. She got a bit upset that I didn't introduce her."

"Hello Hedwig." The boy said nervously, waving slightly in her direction.

"We were just about to head to Ollivander's to get my wand. Have you gone to get your's yet?" Harry asked.

Neville deflated a bit. "Er— my Gran said I'll be using my dad's old wand."

"Oh Augusta, you know better than that," Nick interjected and had to hold up a hand to keep her from saying anything. "Now I'm not trying to chastise you but you know all of this as well as I do, the wand chooses the wizard and if you force Neville to use a wand that isn't bonded with him, the magic he gets out of it won't be nearly as strong or as stable as what he would get with his own. Do you really want to hold your grandson's development back and damage his learning experience because you forced him to use a wand that wasn't compatible with him?"

"There is nothing wrong with his father's wand and Neville should feel honored to be using it." She declared with not a little bit of venom, daring him to continue arguing with her.

Harry looked at Neville and saw that his head was down, as if he were embarrassed, and he was staring at his shoes.

"It's not a question of honor. No two people in this world are the same, we are each unique in our own way. As much as you wish he were, Neville is not your son, he is the byproduct of both his mother and his father's bonding. He may have gotten most of Frank's personality but from what I can see, his look's are pure Alice and that is not something you should ever be, or make him feel he should be, ashamed of."

Mrs. Longbottom looked like she had been slapped in the face."Ashamed?" she whispered and looked over at Neville. "Neville, do you think I am ashamed of you?" She asked as she put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her but then hurriedly looked away and stared at his shoes again. She gave an audible gulp and blinked her eyes furiously a few times. Giving Neville's shoulder a squeeze she said in a thick voice, "Well, we will discuss this more at home but I suppose Nick is right, I think we should see about getting you your own wand."

Neville's head shot up and a smile slowly spread across his face when she gave him a firm nod. They all turned as one and headed directly to Ollivander's, Harry and Neville walking together slightly behind the others, talking all the way.

As creepy as Ollivander was, you couldn't really doubt his expertise in the way of wands. It didn't take Neville long at all to find his, which was made of cherry wood with a unicorn tail hair core and then Ollivander set his sights on Harry. He got extremely excited when Nick told him they needed a wand to be made for Harry using his familiar's feather and eagerly grabbed the raven haired boy and drug him to the back of his shop.

Harry was handed a piece of wood and instructed to close his eyes and concentrate on the feeling the wood gave off. 10 minutes and 26 different types of wood later he finally felt a warmth emanating from the wood that was placed in his hand and Hedwig let out a triumphant shriek.

"Excellent Mr. Potter, wands made of Rowan wood favor those pure of heart and are very good at protection charms as well as performing excellently in duels. If you come back tomorrow afternoon I should have your wand ready for you." Ollivander said and they all thanked him before leaving.

The group stayed together as Harry and Neville went to be fitted for robes, got their potions supplies, and to stock up on ink and parchment. When Nell informed Mrs. Longbottom that they needed to visit Gringotts however, they parted ways with both boys promising to write to each other.

When they stepped into Gringotts, Hedwig deciding to wait outside for them, Nick went to speak with his account manager while Nell decided to take Harry to his trust vault, which Dumbledore had sent the key for, via Fawkes, late the night she had met with him, as well as meet with the Potter Account Manager to read his parent's will.

Harry laughed excitedly as they sped through the underground tunnels on the Gringotts cart and almost groaned when the ride came to an end. Griphook, the goblin escorting them, hopped out of the cart, took the key from Nell to unlock the vault, and pulled open the door, allowing massive amounts of green smoke to come billowing out.

"What's all that green smoke for Mr. Griphook?" Harry asked.

The goblin gave him a queer look but explained. "It is part of a security measure, if the vault is ever opened without the proper key, the wards will trigger, the smoke will incapacitate the would be thief, and the goblins will be alerted that there is an intruder. When the proper key is used, then the wards automatically deactivate the neutralizing effects of the smoke and then reactivates once the door is locked again."

"Wow, that's really cool." Harry said, then gaped once he actually got a look inside his vault.

"Indeed, little wizard." Griphook replied and walked over to the side of the vault to wait for them.

Once he had gotten over just how much money he had, Harry turned to Nell. "If I have all of this money, how come you and Nick have been paying for all of my things? Shouldn't I give you money for it?"

Nell smiled and ran her hand through his hair before pulling him in for a brief hug. "Of course not sweetheart, we are your guardians now and it is our job to make sure you have everything you need to grow up healthy and happy. I brought you down here so you knew what you have available to you once you get older and so you could get some gold in case you ever want to buy something yourself."

She pulled out a small red leather pouch and handed it to him before taking him over to get some money, explaining to him again how many Knuts to a Sickle and how many Sickles to a Galleon before telling him their average conversion rate into Pounds so that he could have a comparison. She only let him take 10 Galleons, 15 Sickles, and 20 Knuts though, telling him that that should last him for a while since he wouldn't really be shopping anywhere without them.

Done with that, Nell informed Griphook that they were supposed to meet with Plodnok about the Potter will and he took them back up to the main floor of the bank, then led them to a door with a plaque that read _Plodnok_ and below that, _Account Manager_. Once inside, Plodnok wasted no time in bringing out the Potter will and letting Nell read it over.

It was fairly simple, as wills go, naming Harry as the soul heir to the Potter vault, the trust vault, and the property located at Godric's Hollow. Various people, including Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, were named beneficiaries, which wasn't unusual at the time the will was written but she got a severe shock when she saw _Harry's Godfather_ in parenthesis next to Sirius' name.

Godparents in the magical world were serious business because accepting such a title and responsibility required the Godmother or Godfather to give a Wizard's Oath that they would never harm, or attempt to harm, their Godson/daughter in any way, either directly or indirectly. This meant that Sirius would not have been able to betray James and Lily, because it would have put Harry in danger and triggered the oath, which would have kept him from being able to go through with it.

If Sirius really was Harry's Godfather, then she was holding the proof of his innocence in her hands and the Ministry had sent an innocent man to prison for 10 years. Oh, they weren't going to be happy about this one bit.

"Plodnok, I can see that Sirius Black and Alice Longbottom were named the executor's for the will so I can understand why they weren't able to execute it but it also names the previous Potter Account Manager Urk as a witness. Why wouldn't he have executed it after everything settled down?" She asked, not a little bit upset that Sirius' innocence could have been cleared up a long time ago had a copy of the will been sent out to the appropriate beneficiaries, considering Minerva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore were also named.

The goblin shifted uncomfortably. "Account Manager Urk became ill just days after the Potters were killed and passed away shortly thereafter. When I took over his position I had seen in his appointment book that he had set up a time to execute the will on November 4th 1981. I did not realize however, that this was the very day he had fallen ill and so had believed it to have been done. Without anybody else coming forward to enquire about it and not having any reason to look further into it myself, the will was made secure in the Potter file and forgotten about."

Nell kept her temper in check, Plodnok had all but admitted that he had made a mistake and she knew how much goblins hated having to do that. If she went on a rant now it would only make him more surly and less than helpful. "Thank you for letting me know what happened. If you could go ahead and execute the will and send copies to the listed beneficiaries who are still alive as well as make a copy for myself and Harry here, it would be greatly appreciated." She said, as politely as she was able. She or Nick would have to take the copy to the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to have them take a look into Sirius' imprisonment.

When they were finally done and met Nick in the lobby, they exchanged information and he told her that Dumbledore had sent Rubeus Hagrid to pick up the stone from the vault. Neither of them could figure out just what he was thinking, Hagrid would have stood out like a sore thumb. They would certainly need to bring that up when they saw him on the 5th.

OoOoOoO

It was a bright and sunny Monday morning as Nick and Nell walked up the dirt road to Hogwarts from the front gate. Harry was currently at Neville's, being shown around the massive greenhouses that took up the majority of the backyard of Longbottom Hall. He had wanted to come see Hogwarts with them but when Nell told him that they had arranged for him to visit Neville while they were gone, he had immediately changed his mind.

Hagrid was not there to meet them this time and escort them up to see Dumbledore so they walked leisurely through the halls on their way and stopped every so often to gaze at or speak to one of the many portraits lining the walls.

"Mr. and Mrs. Flamel, it is good to see you again. I hope you are well?" Dumbledore spoke as they walked into his office and stood to greet them.

Nick gave Nell a small smirk, which she turned her nose up at and ignored, when Dumbledore addressed them by their last names. They had made a bet on whether or not he would respect Nell's wishes from their last meeting or if he would revert back to simply calling them by their first. Nick had been on the receiving end of his wife's anger enough times to know that she would leave an impression on the wizened wizard and he would not dare to address them by their first names until she again started calling him by his.

"We are doing very good thank you." She replied a bit crisply.

The only sign they saw that her attitude bothered Dumbledore was the slight sigh and drooping of shoulders before he gestured for them to sit and poured them both some tea. "And how was Egypt?"

"It would have been an excellent vacation had it not been for a very disturbing discovery involving Harry." Nick said, taking one of the cups offered.

"Oh? What discovery would that be? I do hope he is all right." Dumbledore said in concern.

"Before we tell you anything Dumbledore, we want to warn you right now that if you are not 100% truthful with us regarding what we are about to speak about then I will take my stone, we will walk out that door, and you will never see us or Harry again. Do you understand?"

Dumbledore had already decided to fully disclose everything he knew about Harry to them so, though he dreaded what had happened that would cause them to make such a threat, he did not hesitate to agree. "I promise you both that I will not hide anything from you and will answer any questions, that I am able, truthfully."

"Good. Now, did you know that Harry had a piece of Voldemort's soul buried beneath his scar?" Nick asked bluntly and watched their old friend's face carefully.

Dumbledore sucked in a quick breath and paled dramatically. "A piece of his soul?"

"Yes, just beneath his scar."

"But how… why…" He paused and stared at them. "How do you know this and are you completely sure?"

Nick and Nell were satisfied with Dumbledore's reaction and decided that he had had no prior knowledge about this. Both sighed in relief before Nell responded. "An old medicine woman saw it and alerted us to its existence a few days into our vacation. We are very sure that it is as she said because we both witnessed its removal the next day."

Dumbledore sat stunned for a moment before he spoke hesitantly. "I was under the impression that a Horcrux could only be destroyed if its container was also destroyed beyond repair. If Harry was indeed a Horcrux then it would not have been possible for them to simply remove the soul piece without harming him significantly."

"Well then, it's a good thing that Harry wasn't an actual Horcrux." Nell said and held up a hand to silence him when it looked like he would argue. "It was determined that there was no way Voldemort would have had the opportunity to complete the process of making an actual Horcrux before he disappeared and even if he had, he would certainly not have intentionally placed one in a living being that he obviously wanted dead.

"The shaman that we spoke to said that the soul fragment most likely split from the main soul when Voldemort's spell backfired and it latched onto the first living thing it could find. It did not move any further than Harry's scar however and the shaman and his companions performed a purification ritual on Harry which removed the fragment and then they destroyed it."

There was silence for a moment as Dumbledore looked at them both in horror. "If a fragment of Voldemort's soul broke off without him going through the process to split it himself, that would mean that his soul had already been severely unstable. The only way that would have happened is if he had made at least one Horcrux before that night."

"We came to the same conclusion and now we know how it is he survived his bodies destruction." Nick said gravely.

"Of course. We need to figure out how many he made. As power hungry and obsessed with immortality as he was, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he actually made more than one."

"We thought we would leave that to you to start with since you seem to have known him quite well but once you have gathered enough information on him and his past, Nell and I would like to be brought into the fold so that we may help locate and destroy these abominations. We have also agreed that it may be best to bring in others to assist with the hunt."

Dumbledore thought this over for some time before responding. "Perhaps Severus could be of some help."

Nell gave him an incredulous look. "That's it? We are starting a hunt for items that are considered the darkest of black magic and you want to bring in a single person to help?"

"I believe it would be best if we didn't involve too many people. We don't want information like this getting out to any of his supporters."

Nick let out an exasperated huff. "Dumbledore, Nell and I are now professors and parents which means that we will be spending the majority of every day here in the castle or at home with Harry. You hold 3 top ranking positions that monopolize the better part of your days and Snape will most likely be busy brewing potions from dawn until dusk. Just when do you plan on any of us putting in the required hours we would need to go searching for Voldemort's Horcruxes?"

After a very dramatic sigh, Dumbledore responded. "You are right of course. I can maybe speak to Amelia Bones with the DMLE and see if she will be willing to listen, she has always been firmly against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. It may be a bit difficult to convince her though, not many people are going to be willing to accept that Voldemort is not dead."

"That's a good start. If she does agree to help she might be able to recommend an Auror or two and maybe even an Unspeakable to add to the group. If you are worried about the information getting out we can go ahead and get a Wizard Oath out of everyone just to make sure nobody can speak of it to someone else that isn't a part of the Oath."

"Yes yes, I will set up a meeting with her for this weekend so we can discuss it and I will owl you to let you know how it goes." Dumbledore still wasn't very comfortable with so many people being told but he could see the benefit in having multiple people outside of Hogwarts assisting.

"Terrific. Now that that's settled, what say we move onto why you saw fit to send Hagrid of all people to collect the Stone from Gringotts?" Nick enquired.

Dumbledore looked slightly confused. "Mrs. Flamel asked me to send someone to retrieve it and I thought Hagrid was an excellent choice."

Nick closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of nose, leaving Nell to respond. "Dumbledore, I specifically said someone trusting **and** nondescript. Please tell me how an 11 1/2 foot tall man is nondescript."

The awkward silence that followed that statement, as Dumbledore tried to figure out a response, was broken by Fawkes' trill of what sounded suspiciously like laughter, which lightened the mood somewhat.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I apologize, I was thinking more of the safety of the stone and didn't think it through fully when I chose Hagrid to go fetch it. I trust him with my life but I can see that he may not have been the best choice for such a delicate job."

"Well theres nothing we can do about it now. Let's just hope that the thief still thinks that we took it with us to Egypt." Nick said with a sigh.

"Indeed. Would you like to go ahead and hide it now?" Dumbledore asked.

Nell stood up. "Might as well, then you can tell us what you know about Harry before we decide whether or not to bother taking a look into that jinx on the DADA position."

Dumbledore understood the not so subtle threat behind her words perfectly. If he didn't tell them what he knew they would leave and not come back. He simply nodded and got up to retrieve the stone from the secret vault he had hidden behind one of his bookcases.

Casting the Fidelius and sharing the secret before placing the stone back into the vault didn't take long at all and they were soon back to sipping tea while Dumbledore prepared to tell them about the prophecy.

Hearing that the child that was quickly becoming like a son to them was destined to either defeat a powerful Dark Lord or die by his hand worried both Flamels beyond reason. As soon as they heard it though, they resolved to tell Harry and start training him for when the time came that he would meet Voldemort in battle. They would not however, allow this prophecy to completely rob him of what was left of his childhood and do everything in their power to make sure he grew up happy.

"All right, lets go ahead and look into that jinx shall we? What have you done in regards to it so far Dumbledore?" Nell asked.

"Well, when I first started to notice its existence the first thing I tried was moving the classroom that the DADA class was taught in and when that didn't work I did the same with the professor's office.I checked the parchments of each application I received since becoming Headmaster, both rejected and accepted, but could not find anything on any of them. I even changed the name of the class once and checked to see if the jinx may be a variation of the Taboo curse where instead of revealing the speaker's location, the jinx would strengthen the longer the specific word was used and then activate towards the end of the year once it acquired significant power."

Both Flamels nodded as he explained, thinking furiously about what could be causing this.

"Have you ever suspected who it is that might have placed the jinx?" Nick enquired.

"Yes, I believe it was Tom Riddle who placed it. He was quite an exceptional young man before he turned to the dark and became known as Lord Voldemort. He was also most upset when I turned down his application for the position."

Nick and Nell stared at him, stunned. Nick recovered before his wife. "You're telling us that Voldemort applied for the DADA position before he actually became the Dark Lord?"

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "Oh yes, but by then I had heard all kinds of rumors about his exploration into dark magic and did not think it best for him to be teaching children. Of course, I did not know just how far he had journeyed down that road and it was only a few years later that he began to rise to power."

Nick ran a hand down his face, today was turning out to be very trying indeed. "Well, lets take a look at his application first since we are here and if we don't find anything there, we will brainstorm on what else to look for. You seem to have done a thorough investigation so far."

"Very good." Dumbledore said and went to a filing cabinet, pulled out a folder of all previously rejected applications, and brought it back to his desk while flipping through it to find the one he was looking for. "Ah, hear it is."

Nick took the offered parchment and looked it over for some time before he turned to his wife. "Nell dear, do you recognize this parchment? It seems oddly familiar but I can't seem to place it."

Nell took the parchment from her husband and nearly dropped it in surprise when she got a good look at it. "Nick, this is cursed parchment!"

"Cursed parchment?" Dumbledore asked worriedly when he saw Nick's face pale.

"Yes," Nell began and set it down on the edge of the desk. "It was invented by a dark wizard in Greece by the name of Toxeus Vitalis back in 1434. It was quite ingenious in that it allowed witches and wizards to embed curses, jinxes, and the like into the parchment without them being detected by the standard detection charms. He apparently engraved his own rune array into the skin just before the parchment was treated so that they would be hidden beneath the surface and once the desired spell was cast the runes would activate and conceal the spell. Rumor has it that there was more involved than that but that is all I heard about directly.

"I only got to see one with my own eyes before Emperor Palaiologus ordered them all to be destroyed in 1438. They weren't in circulation long enough for them to become overly popular so they never really made it outside of Constantinople, thank Merlin, but I am curious how Riddle managed to get a hold of one. It would have been pretty simple for him to cast the jinx on the DADA position via the parchment. You no doubt cast your detection charms but without knowing to look further you wouldn't have been able to find it." She finished and looked to Dumbledore for confirmation.

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "I did look into the parchment when I was first attempting to remove the jinx but I never found anything wrong with it so I just filed it with the other rejected applications. How do you remove the jinx?"

"Oh, that's quite easy." Nell said before she quickly pulled her wand and set the entire parchment on fire, burning it to ashes within seconds.

"Was that entirely necessary?" Dumbledore asked angrily. "We could have studied the parchment and figured out just how it works."

Nell looked unabashed as she vanished the ashes. "I don't think so Dumbledore, it's bad enough that Riddle had it in his possession for any length of time and we can only hope he didn't find out its secrets before childishly using it to place a jinx on the position. Can you imagine the destruction he could have brought had he found out how to make his own and started distributing them willy nilly to all those in the Ministry who opposed him during the war?"

Now it was Dumbledore's turn to pale as he thought through that horrifying scenario. "You're absolutely right, I was only thinking about it from a learning standpoint." He said and took off his glasses to rub his eyes.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, the concept is fascinating, and I was rather excited about it myself before I really thought about what they could do." Nell said softly. "We will have to send an owl to the Minister for Magic of Greece to let him know that one was found so that he can have a search done to see if they can locate anymore and destroy them if they do."

"Perhaps it would be better if I sent it, make it seem more official." Dumbledore suggested.

"Thats fine with us." Nick replied, standing and helping his wife up. "If we are done here Dumbledore, I think Nell and I will be going now. After everything we discussed, I think we both really need to see and speak with Harry."

"Quite understandable Mr. Flamel. Thank you very much for coming and especially for ridding me of that infernal jinx. We will be having a staff meeting on the 17th starting at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, where you will be introduced to the rest of the staff." Dumbledore said as he walked them to the door.

"We will be there. Thank you for everything today Dumbledore, even if the topics were most unpleasant to discuss." Nick said and patted him gently on the shoulder.

"Of course, and please don't hesitate to owl me if you have any other questions or suggestions regarding the school. I rather enjoyed the different course ideas."

Both Flamels waved at him as Nell responded. "We will. Good day Dumbledore."

As they made they're way out of Hogwarts, Nell wound her arm through Nick's, needing the comfort and closeness as they discussed how they were going to tell Harry about the prophecy and discuss the role he would play in the future of Wizarding Britain.

* * *

 **A/N:** Though I can't say for sure, my next chapter may be a little late. There was a death in the family so it might be a slow in being written. Don't worry, I'm not talking months but perhaps a week or two so I hope you guys can bare with me if that happens. Thanks for all of the reviews and likes for the story so far, you guys are awesome.


	7. Budding Friendships and Sortings

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **A/N:** Sorry for the long delay guys! I hope to get back to normal postings going forward, especially with NaNoWriMo going on :D. Thanks for the awesome reviews, you guys are the best.

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Harry celebrates his 11th birthday and gets to meet the Weasleys, the Lovegoods, and the Diggorys. He also finds his familiar, Hedwig, while buying his school supplies in Diagon Alley before meeting Neville Longbottom along with his intimidating grandmother. Nick and Nell confront Dumbledore about Voldemort and they manage to remove the jinx that has been plaguing the DADA position for the last 20 odd years before learning about the prophecy about Harry and the Dark Lord.

* * *

This was it. It was finally here. The day he had been waiting for all summer. The day that he simultaneously anticipated and feared. This was the day that Harry Potter would board the Hogwarts Express that would take him to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he would begin his magical education.

Harry breathed in a nervously excited breath and let it out slowly. This summer had been a whirlwind of emotions and shocking revelations for the 11 year old and he felt that without Nick and Nell's love and care, he would have gone insane with everything he had been bombarded with.

From learning that magic existed, finding out how his parents had really died, experiencing the pain of having a soul piece removed from behind his scar, and ending with discovering that there was a prophecy about him and the psychopath that had killed his parents. Yes, he very much doubted he would have made it through the last few months with his sanity in tact were it not for the wonderful people that were now his guardians.

"Are you ready Harry?" Nick asked enthusiastically as he came to stand next to him.

Harry looked up at him with a big smile. "Yes." He said simply.

Nell came to stand next to him as well, fiddling with the enchanted watch on her wrist that she had received from Harry for her birthday just a few days before. He had had a mini panic attack when he found out that Nell's birthday was coming up, having never been able to get anybody a present before, but Nick managed to calm him down and took him to Diagon Alley, where he helped Harry pick out her present.

The watch actually looked very much like a silver bracelet but what made it unique were the 12 lotus flowers that surrounded it. They each had 12 petals and one petal would open for every five minutes that passed, blooming fully at the top of the hour and starting on the next flower when the new hour began. From midnight to noon the flowers were a pinkish red to signify the AM hours and turned a bluish purple from noon to midnight for PM.

"You have everything right?" She asked him.

He looked down at his new book bag and opened it to make sure that his shrunken trunk as well as the lunch and assorted snacks that Nick had made him for the journey were safely packed within. His wand was in the wand holster attached to his right arm that Nell had bought him when they had gone to pick up his wand from Ollivander's, his ever present camera was also slung across his shoulder, and everything else he needed for school was currently in the shrunken trunk.

"Yes" He said again and Hedwig came over to perch on his shoulder, sending a flash of anticipation through their bond. Instead of flying to Hogwarts ahead of him she had made it quite clear that she would be accompanying Harry on the train and then ensured that he knew just how she felt about being put in her cage when he suggested it by screeching angrily right into his ear.

"Very good. We should get going." Nick said and looked at his watch. "It's almost 10:30 and we want to get there before all the compartments start getting taken up."

Harry reached up and grabbed each of their hands, took another deep breath, and readied himself for the uncomfortable apparition ride.

When he was finally grounded and didn't feel like his stomach was about to rebel all over the pavement, Harry opened his eyes and saw before him a magnificent scarlet steam engine set next to a large platform bustling with people and animals.

As Hedwig gave a disgruntled huff, Nick and Nell ushered Harry forward, startling him out of his trance, so they weren't blocking the apparition point.

"You said that you were going to meet Neville here right?" Nell asked.

"Yeah, he said he and his Gran would be here about 30 or 40 minutes before the train leaves." Harry replied and stood up on his tip toes to try and locate them. He and Neville had visited each other a few times the last month of summer and had become fast friends, even writing to each other when they weren't able to visit.

Harry had also visited the Weasley's once when he was invited to Ginny's birthday on August 11th. Nell had decided to go get her present since Harry had no idea what a 10 year old girl would want and, remembering Harry telling her that Ginny thought she would like the Chaser position best because that's where all the action was, ended up getting her a Quaffle that was enchanted to mimic being thrown by other Chasers so that she could play by herself while her brothers were away at Hogwarts.

Luna had been invited to the party as well and, though he felt uncomfortable asking girls over to play, he did promise to write both her and Ginny every once in a while because he thought they were nice and felt a little bad knowing that they would be by themselves for a whole year since they didn't start at Hogwarts until next year.

"Oh, I see them." Nell announced and began dragging both Harry and Nick through the large crowd.

"Harry!" Neville said excitedly as he saw them walk up.

Greetings were made all around before Nick looked down at the two boys. "Why don't you both go and find yourselves a compartment and then come back out so we can chat for a bit before you have to go."

They nodded and Harry helped Neville get his trunk up into a carriage towards the end of the train that had two girls in one of the compartments that Neville said he knew.

"How did Sage fair with the journey?" Harry asked him as Neville drug his trunk down the aisle and Harry carried a large cat carrier for him. They had all been visiting Longbottom Hall when Nick overheard Neville's Uncle Algie mention that he was going to get his nephew a toad for being accepted into Hogwarts and quickly intervened on the young boy's behalf, managing to convince him to get Neville a cat instead.

Harry had been with Neville when he went to pick out his cat and was surprised to see him almost immediately zone in on an already very large Maine Coon kitten that would probably grow to be about the same size as Alcmene. Sage was black with bright golden eyes and he fit Neville perfectly, as he seemed to be very laid back and enjoyed sunbathing in the greenhouses while his owner puttered around taking care of his plants.

"He didn't like Apparating too much. Started hissing and spitting like mad once we arrived and I had just gotten him settled down when you guys showed up." Neville replied, stopping before one of the doors and knocking lightly.

It didn't take but a few moments for the door to slide open, revealing a small blonde haired girl with pigtails. "Oh hi Neville." She said once she got a good look at him.

"H…Hello Hannah." He stuttered out. "Do you mind if we sit with you?"

Hannah turned to her compartment mate and when the young red head nodded, she faced them again. "Come on in."

"Thanks." He said and drug his trunk inside.

Harry set the cat carrier down as Hedwig flew off his shoulder to perch on the back of one of the seats and he helped Neville pick up his trunk to put it up into one of the racks. When they were done Harry looked at the two girls, who were sitting next to each other while watching him with mild curiosity, and waved at them both, "Hello, my name is Harry Potter." And resisted the urge to roll his eyes as they gasped and began searching his forehead for his scar, which had faded quite a bit since the soul piece was removed.

When neither of them seemed like they were going to introduce themselves, Neville cleared his throat pointedly and spoke. "Harry, this is Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones."

The girls blushed and muttered apologies before Hannah spoke up again. "Sorry about that Harry, we knew you would be going to Hogwarts this year but it's still kind of a shock to just meet you out of the blue like that."

"It's all right, Nick and Nell warned me that the staring and stuff would get worse once I went to school since they wouldn't be able to shield me from it but its going to take some getting used to I suppose." He gave them a smile to let them know it really was ok.

"Nick and Nell?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah, my guardians… who are waiting for us out on the platform. We can talk more when we get back if you'd like but we should probably get out there." He replied as he began lightly pushing Neville out the door, wanting to make sure he got to say bye to both of them. He looked to his familiar before he left. "You staying here Hedwig?"

She bobbed up and down a bit then settled in.

Harry nodded and followed Neville back out onto the platform, through the much larger crowd, and back to both of their guardians.

"There you are. What took you so long?" Nell asked

"We were just saying hi to a few friends of Neville's that we are going to share a compartment with." Harry said.

They smiled down at him and Nick spoke up. "Well we're glad you are meeting more people already. Now, we will see you at the feast tonight but we probably won't get a chance to speak with you until tomorrow morning at the earliest ok?" He waited for Harry's nod before continuing. "Tomorrow after dinner we can show you where our quarters will be so you know where it's at and can come and visit us every once in a while."

"Are we still going to do dinner with just the three of us on Sundays?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Of course sweetheart, there may be occasions where both of us might not be able to be there or we may have to cancel but we will make sure to try and all have dinner together at least once a week." Nell said and reached into her purse, pulling out her own camera. "Now, I want some pictures of your first day before you leave."

The next few minutes were spent taking pictures and just as Nell snapped the last one of Harry and Neville with their arms around each others shoulders with the Hogwarts Express in the background, a whistle sounded loudly throughout the platform.

"Oh, you had best get going." Nell said, pulling Harry into a tight hug and kissing the top of his head.

When she let him go, Nick pulled him into a similar hug. "Have fun on the train and make plenty of new friends."

"I'll try." Harry replied and said goodbye to Mrs. Longbottom, as Neville did the same to the Flamels, before giving them a last wave and running to get back onto the train.

When they arrived at the compartment they noticed that they had been joined by another girl who had bushy brown hair and seemed to be talking a mile a minute from what Harry could see from the window in the door. She stopped in mid sentence when he slid the door open and stepped inside. "Hello." He said as he went to sit in the seat that Hedwig had claimed, near the window on the same side of the compartment as her, which had a small table that he placed his book bag on.

Neville managed a murmured greeting as he sat down across from Harry and right next to Susan before bending down to let Sage out of his carrier. Harry had noticed that while Neville spoke to him and people he already knew just fine, as soon as he met someone new he became super shy.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger." The bushy haired girl rushed out.

When it looked like Neville wasn't going to handle the introductions this time, Harry spoke up. "Nice to meet you. I'm Harry Potter and this is Neville Longbottom."

Hermione's eyes widened slightly. "Are you really? Oh, I've read all about you…" but she cut herself off as Harry let out a low groan. "What?"

Harry looked at her. "Sorry Hermione, that wasn't directed towards you personally. I just hate my fame and all the stares and whispering that go along with it."

Hermione huffed. "But Harry, you defeated a dark lord when you were just a baby, of course you would be famous."

"I was nearly killed when I was just a baby and I'm only famous because I somehow survived. Personally, I think my parents deserve all the credit but since they are gone, people tend to just ignore them and focus on me." Harry shrugged and Hedwig, sensing her familiar's mood, jumped down onto his shoulder and nuzzled his cheek before jumping onto the table in front of him.

Harry smiled down at her as she sent flashes of love through their bond. "Everyone, this is Hedwig. She is my true familiar." He said.

"Is she really Harry? True familiars are quite rare." Hannah spoke up, looking between him and Hedwig.

"Yeah, I found her in the Owl Emporium when we were walking through Diagon Alley. I felt the bond and immediately went straight for her in the shop."

"What's a true familiar? I haven't read about those." Hermione asked, intrigued.

Harry proceeded to tell her what Nick had told him then what he had read about them in one of the books from the Flamel library. According to _Your Familiar and You_ , a witch or wizard could have multiple true familiars and they could be either magical or non-magical creatures. It was rumored that Merlin had had a Dragon true familiar, while the Hogwarts Founders each had a non-magical one. Rowena Ravenclaw was bonded to an eagle, Helga Hufflepuff to a badger, Godric Gryffindor to a lion, and Salazar Slytherin to a snake and those familiars were each such an integral part of the Founder's lives that they were made into the mascots for each house.

"So you and Hedwig can feel each others emotions?" Hermione enquired.

Harry nodded and stroked Hedwig's stomach. "She knows how I feel about my fame and everything so she was just helping me feel better."

"Oh." Hermione said in a small voice. "I'm sorry I upset you Harry. You were right, I didn't give much thought to everything else that might have happened that night."

"It's ok Hermione." He gave her a smile. "Just like I was telling Susan and Hannah earlier, I'll just have to try and get used to it all and will try extra hard not to bite anyone's head off."

Everybody laughed at that and the tension was broken.

"So you said that Nick and Nell were your guardians. Are they who you have been living with all this time?" Hannah asked into the comfortable silence that had descended.

"Their full names are Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel and they will be teaching at Hogwarts starting this year. I only met them for the first time in July though and they adopted me the day after. Before that I lived with my relatives."

"What happened to your relatives?" Hermione asked.

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "They hated magic and they weren't very nice to me because of it."

Nick and Nell had managed to get him to open up more about what had happened at the Dursley's growing up and after confiding in them he did feel better about everything, even managing to tell Neville a bit when he had asked, but he still didn't like talking about it to complete strangers.

When Miss Poole from Children's Welfare came by for her monthly visit in August she had updated them on what had happened with the Dursleys. After the court hearing, his Aunt Petunia was sentenced to probation with the possibility of jail time should she violate any of the conditions laid down for the probation. One of the conditions was that Dudley could continue living with her only if he met with a child psychologist on a weekly basis to try and curtail the bad behavior he had developed thanks to his parents.

Uncle Vernon however, was sentenced to a year in prison for punching one of the Squib policeman who had accompanied the Aurors and Squibs from the non-magical children's welfare to investigate the case. Once the year was up, if he had exhibited good behavior, he would be allowed to go home under probation as well but with stricter conditions than Aunt Petunia.

Neville managed to pluck up his courage and intercede before one of the girls could possibly ask Harry to elaborate further, knowing how much his friend disliked talking about his relatives, and said. "Nick and Nell are really amazing though. Harry just told me the other day that they are over 600 years old."

As expected, the girls were stunned and suitably distracted by this new piece of information.

"How is that even possible?" Hermione enquired with a look that said quite clearly that she didn't believe him.

Harry gave Neville a grateful look before he turned to answer Hermione's question. "Nick is an Alchemist and he created the Philosopher's Stone, with Nell's help, back in the 1300s. The Stone produces the Elixir of Life, which makes them immortal for as long as they continue to drink it."

"Wow, that's incredible." Susan spoke up for the first time.

"Will Mr. Flamel be teaching Alchemy?" Hermione asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah, but you won't be able to take it until 6th year. If you are interested in it, I do know that you will have to make good grades in Transfiguration and Potions for you to be eligible to take the class."

The next hour or so was spent talking about the various classes that each of them were looking forward to, which house they thought they would be sorted into, and a brief conversation about Quidditch, which was abandoned quickly when it was realized that only Harry was really interested in the sport.

Just as noon rolled around and Harry was in the process of pulling out some non-magical playing cards from his bag for them to play with, their compartment door slid open to reveal a kind looking old woman pushing a cart full of assorted sweets and other snacks. "Anything off the trolly dears?"

While Susan, Hannah, and Neville all bought something, Harry and Hermione both declined as they pulled out their own lunches. Even though it had been several weeks since he was taken off of his potion regimen, Harry was still immensely grateful that he no longer had to take the vial things, despite the benefits they had given him.

When Nell had taken him in for his check-up, Healer Manning informed them that he was fit as a fiddle and that he would continue to grow as a normal boy should from now on. Harry had actually grown about 3 or 4 inches and put on 8 or so pounds in the month that he had taken the potions and was glad that he was no longer so small and scrawny.

"Does anybody want some biscuits?" He asked as he set a large box of chocolate chip biscuits on the table and opened it.

"Oh, you guys gotta try these." Neville said and reached in to grab some. "Nick is an amazing cook and bakes the best biscuits I have ever tasted."

At that statement, all three girls took a cookie and though Hermione muttered profusely about sugar and cavities as she ate it, they all ended up eating at least 3 each after they tried their first.

"So Harry." Hannah began and Harry looked up at her as he fed Hedwig some of his pasty. "If Mr. and Mrs. Flamel are so old, does that mean that they have a lot of family running around everywhere?"

"Not really." He replied gloomily. "Despite giving them eternal life, one of the actual downsides of the Elixir of Life is that Nell isn't able to have children. When they realized this and after a few long discussions, they decided that they would adopt Squib children that were abandoned by their magical families when it was discovered they weren't able to do magic, and raise them."

"That's horrible!" Hermione exclaimed.

"It is," Harry agreed whole heartedly, "but it happens a lot apparently. Most witches and wizards are just too embarrassed to admit that they had a Squib child and don't want to have anything to do with them once they realize it, even thought it's clearly not the child's fault.

"Anyway, because it's so difficult for Squibs to integrate themselves and be accepted into magical society, whenever the children they adopted grew up they would go into the non-magical world and eventually Nick and Nell would lose touch with them as they started their own families that didn't know anything about magic. They said that that is the hardest part for them, knowing their grandchildren are out there but not being able to meet and speak with them, but that giving those children a chance to grow up happy made up for it."

"Well that's really nice of them." Susan said. "But also really sad."

Harry had thought so too when Nick had told him about it. He decided not to tell the others that the last child the Flamels had adopted in 1936 had been a baby they named Julia Rose Flamel, who had died from a severe case of pneumonia when she was 8. Nell had been heartbroken and they had immediately left New Zealand to come back to Britain since the former held too many bad memories for them to want to stay there. After 30 years had passed and Nell had still not gotten over losing Julia, the Flamels sat down to discuss possibly destroying the stone and finally passing on. Before they could reach a decision however, Nell met his mum and the discussion was put on hold for a few years, then dismissed entirely when Harry had come along and Nell seemed to be coming back to herself.

As Hermione opened her mouth to say something, the compartment door slid open once more, this time by a boy their age with two larger boys standing behind and on either side of him. "Any of you seen Harry Potter?" He asked haughtily after looking around at them in mild disdain.

All eyes turned to Harry and the blond haired boy zeroed in on him and stepped into the compartment. "So it's you then?

"Yes, I'm Harry Potter." Harry said simply. He wasn't sure he was going to like this boy very much but didn't want to be rude.

"My name is Draco Malfoy and this is Crabbe and Goyle." He said, waving negligently behind him at the burly brutes still standing in the doorway, then extending his hand to shake.

Harry shook it and went ahead and introduced everyone else.

Malfoy looked down his nose at Hermione when Harry said her name and asked rudely. "Are you a muggle-born?"

Hermione looked warily up at him. "Yes."

"You really shouldn't be hanging around with riffraff like her and that Squib, Potter." He said, pointing at Neville.

"That's not very nice Malfoy, Neville wouldn't have been accepted at Hogwarts if he couldn't do magic and you don't even know Hermione." Harry said angrily as Hedwig let out a shriek aimed towards the pale boy and flew over to sit on Hermione's shoulder to play with her hair since the bushy haired girl looked upset at Malfoy's dig.

Malfoy jumped back in surprise as Hedwig clipped him around the head with one of her wings on her way over to Hermione and would have tripped and fallen over his own feet if Neville hadn't grabbed him quickly and righted him.

"Don't touch me Squib!" He yelled angrily and yanked his arm out of the other boys grasp.

"Malfoy, if you're going to be rude to everyone then please leave, we just want to enjoy the train ride." Harry tried but knew that his request would most likely be ignored.

Malfoy gave them a sneer. "But we don't want to leave, you seem to have some sweets left and we already ate all of ours."

Just as he reached out to grab hold of Harry's box of biscuits a voice was heard from right behind Crabbe and Goyle. "What's going on in here?"

They jumped in surprise and everybody turned to see Cedric standing behind them.

Harry let out a small sigh of relief at the older boys good timing and Malfoy muttered profusely as he gave them all a dark look and stormed out of the compartment with his bookends in tow.

"Hey Cedric." Harry said with a wide grin. "You came at just the right time I think."

"Well I'm glad I did, it sounded like things could have turned pretty nasty. Mind if I sit?" He asked Hermione, who turned beet red but shook her head and he sat down next to her.

"You want some biscuits?" Harry offered, holding out the box.

"Thanks." He replied and took a few. "Looks like you've made some new friends."

"Oh yeah, sorry." Harry said and introduced everyone again. "And this is Cedric Diggory, he is a third year Hufflepuff."

"Hufflepuff?" Hannah squeaked and also turned red when Cedric looked at her.

He gave her a smile and nodded. "You hoping to get into Hufflepuff?"

Hannah cleared her throat nervously. "Yes, that's where Susan and I would like to go."

"Well, then I'll be rooting for you at the sorting."

"How are we sorted?" Harry asked as innocently as he could. Nick and Nell had refused to tell him, saying it was part of tradition for the method to be secret from the new first years.

Cedric gave a chuckle. "Nice try Harry but I'm not telling. I can promise you that it isn't anything bad so don't worry too much about it alright."

Harry gave an exaggerated sigh of disappointment, making everybody laugh, and held up the playing cards he had brought out earlier. "Want to play with us?"

"Sorry, but I told my friends I wouldn't be too long and should be getting back." The older boy said and stood up. "I just wanted to check in on you to see how you were doing."

"Ok, thanks for coming by." Harry said and gave a small wave.

Everybody else in the compartment followed his lead and waved goodbye as Cedric gave them a nod and left.

All of the girls had large smiles on their faces and they each gave a sigh as the compartment door slid closed once again.

"He is so cu…" Hannah began but stopped herself, looked hurriedly at Harry and Neville, and coughed embarrassedly. "So nice." She finished in a small voice.

"Yeah." Both Hermione and Susan said dreamily.

Both boys looked at each other in confusion and shrugged their shoulders. Girls were strange.

The next several hours were spent playing various non-magical card and board games, Hermione and Harry having to teach the others how to play each one. Surprisingly, while he was rubbish at most of the card games, Neville utterly defeated all of them in Monopoly despite never playing such a game before and just learning an hour ago how the money worked. Hermione, who had always been very good at the game, was getting extremely frustrated at losing until she looked at Neville and saw the large smile on his face. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, along with her anger, not being able to stay that way upon seeing how happy winning seemed to make the shy boy.

As it was starting to get dark outside and they were debating which game to play next, Cedric popped his head in and told them all that they would be arriving soon so they should start getting ready and the nervousness that had been pushed into the back of all their minds as they played their games rushed to the forefront and threatened to overwhelm them. Upon seeing this, Cedric stepped into the compartment and told them again that the sorting was nothing difficult or dangerous and that once it was over they would realize how silly they were being.

After Cedric had left, Harry and Neville helped the girls get their trunks down so they could grab their robes, before Harry helped Neville do the same. He was immensely glad that Nell had prepared everything for the journey that morning because his robe was folded neatly in his bag and he didn't have to worry about messing about with a heavy trunk.

Once that was done and they were in the process of cleaning up the compartment, the train began to slow down and a voice echoed throughout the train, letting them know to leave their luggage and such before departing.

"You guys ready?" Harry asked them as the train came to a stop and Hedwig hopped onto his shoulder once more. When everybody gave the affirmative, his familiar even bobbing up and down a bit, he led them out of the compartment and onto the platform.

OoOoOoO

After getting over the surprise of seeing the giant that was Rubeus Hagrid, and getting their first look at Hogwarts in all its magnificence, the first years followed Hagrid nervously to the edge of the lake where sat a fleet of small boats waiting for them. There was a brief hiccup in their plan to sail together when Hagrid instructed them that there could be no more than four to a boat, so Harry let Neville keep the girls company while he searched out another.

Just as he was beginning to think he would have to ride by himself, Harry caught sight of 2 girls and a dark skinned boy making their way over to an empty boat and rushed over. "Mind if I join you?"

They all turned to look at him, their eyes flicking to Hedwig for just a moment, before the brunette girl spoke up. "Sure thing, hop in."

Upon seeing the boy extend his hand to help the blonde haired girl into the boat, Harry hurried to do the same for the other before getting in last. "Thanks, my name is Harry Potter and this lovely lady is Hedwig." He said once they were all settled and Hedwig puffed out her chest at his words.

The shock only lasted a few seconds before the brunette giggled. "Hello, I'm Tracey Davis and this is Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini." She introduced them, pointing at each in turn.

Harry nodded at them as the boats began gliding across the lake. "Nice to meet you. You guys excited to start school?"

"Of course, we have only been waiting to come here since we could understand what Hogwarts was." Daphne spoke, a tad icily.

Harry tilted his head to the side and hummed in agreement, choosing to ignore her tone. "I guess that's true. I only had to wait about 2 months after finding out about the wizarding world, I can't imagine having to wait years."

All of their eyes widened at hearing this. "You didn't know about magic until just two months ago?" At his confirming nod, Tracey looked at him in disbelief. "But you're Harry Potter, how could you not know anything about magic?"

"Well I grew up completely in the non-magical world with my relatives. I know more now of course, what with my current guardians making sure to catch me up as best as they could in the limited time. I even got their permission to try out for the house team if their is an open Seeker position wherever I'm sorted." Harry said with a bit of pride in his voice. He had practiced hard this last month once Nell had made that announcement at his party and really hoped there would be an empty position for him, though he knew if he was sorted into Hufflepuff then he would probably have to wait a few years considering Cedric had mentioned he would be trying out for that position and he doubted he would be able to do better than the burly third year.

"Not many first years make the house teams." Blaise said, his voice sounded surprisingly pleasant and light despite the disbelief written across his face.

"I know," Harry replied amicably. "Nell told me it might not happen but even if I don't make the team I could at least get my name out there for when I'm older."

Blaise nodded his head in approval. "That's true and a good strategy. Do you know which house you're likely to be sorted into?"

"I'm not completely sure to be honest. I think I could end up in either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff."

Daphne gave him a look of disdain. "What, Slytherin not good enough for you Potter?"

This time Harry couldn't ignore it and directed his gaze to her. "I'm not sure why you seem to dislike me so much considering we just met but if you're going to continue being rude to me, shouldn't I at least get to know why?"

He received a glare in return that lasted for all of 5 seconds before Daphne broke into a small smile, which turned into a giggle in short order, followed closely by Tracey and then Blaise giving a chuckle.

"I think I've missed something." Harry said with much confusion, which only set them off to full blown laughter.

Daphne finally calmed down enough to actually speak properly. "Sorry about that Harry, we three kind of grew up together, since we live so close to each other, and when we were younger made up a sort of prank we like to play on people we just meet."

"You prank people by being mean to them?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Not exactly, it's more giving them the cold shoulder. You met Malfoy right?" She enquired and barely gave him a chance to answer, considering she had already heard all about Malfoy's latest show of Pureblood elitism that had blown up in his face quite spectacularly, before she continued. "Well, we have had to meet tons of people just like him growing up so decided to have a little fun with it while also fleshing out the good and bad ones."

"I'm still not sure I understand."

Blaise decided to take over from there. "Look Harry, we've spent the majority of our lives having to put up with stuck up prats like the Malfoys, who no matter who it is, think themselves superior to everyone they meet. To help break up the monotony and help distinguish future friend from foe we came up with our little prank. Daphne acts as the official antagonist while Tracey and I usually play the neutral party.

"She will dish out scathing comments at random and we gauge how well the person handles them. Malfoy nearly gave himself an aneurism yelling at Daphne when we did it to him but ended up embarrassing himself considering it was in the middle of a party his parents were throwing and his father gave him a very public verbal spanking for it. We pretty much just try to ignore him now a days, along with his two bookends and Pansy Parkinson, who just about split our eardrums with her screeches once Daphne got done with her."

Harry thought this over for a bit before he said slowly. "So, you wind people up to see how they react to it and then base their reactions on whether or not you become friends with them?"

"Pretty much." Tracey spoke up, shrugging her shoulders. "It wasn't anything personal so please don't take it as such and, if it makes you feel better, you passed with flying colors. Not many people would have been so nice in asking Daphne what her problem was."

"That's good I guess. Could you not do the same thing to my friends though? They are all really nice and I'm not sure I would approve of you being mean to them, even if it isn't real."

"Sure thing Harry, we had already decided to tone it down while in Hogwarts anyway and only ended up testing you to see if the Boy-Who-Lived was a pompous git or not." Blaise said cordially.

Harry let out a soft laugh. "Well I'm glad I passed and please just stick with Harry. I really hate that title."

"Fair enough." Daphne said. "So for real this time, how come you don't think you would be sorted into Slytherin?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders and got a flash of displeasure from Hedwig through their bond as he jostled the napping owl. "Sorry Hed." He muttered and she simply settled back down again while he turned his attention back to the others. "Well, I don't really consider myself particularly cunning and, though I do want to do well in school, that's really as far as my ambitions go at the moment. I'm just not sure its the house for me."

"You know, Slytherin and Gryffindor are pretty well known for their house rivalries and all three of us will most likely be sorted into Slytherin. If you are sorted into Gryffindor we might not be able to talk to you, let alone be friends." Blaise informed him.

"But we became friends before we were sorted. Why should it matter if we were in rival houses if we were already friends?"

Tracey gave a snort. "That's not usually how it works Harry but I don't see why we can't try and make it work anyway. You seem nice enough and it would make things less boring if we stirred things up a bit." She said and looked to Daphne and Blaise to get their opinions.

Blaise thought about it for a few seconds before his face broke out into a grin. "Sounds like fun, I'm in."

They then turned to wait for Daphne's response, with Hedwig even waking up to join in the staring, and she didn't disappoint them. "I also accept."

Harry gave them all a big smile as Hedwig decided it was time for her to depart and scrounge up some dinner for herself. Her decision came none to soon as they heard Hagrid's booming voice telling them to duck just a few minutes later. Once they were through the dark tunnel and stopped at the underground harbor, Harry and Blaise helped the girls to exit the boats before they made their way up the steps, through the oak doors, and came to a stop in the large Entrance Hall.

After Professor McGonagall gave her little speech about the houses and left them alone for a bit, Harry wasted no time in dragging Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise over to where he had spotted Neville and the girls so he could introduce everybody. He was immensely glad to see that none of them looked down or reacted in any way to Hermione like Malfoy had done.

All 8 of them were talking quietly to each other when screams from their fellow students pierced the air around them. Everybody was just getting over their shock of seeing the group of ghosts coming through the wall when McGonagall came back out to shoo them away and then had the first years follow her.

To say that the Great Hall was a magnificent sight was an understatement and hearing Hermione immediately begin spouting off everything she knew about the enchanted ceiling was just icing on the cake. It also helped steady Harry's nerves to listen to her as he looked around them at the new faces, all watching them make their way to the front of the Hall with rapt attention, and he even managed a small smile when he passed Cedric.

He faced forward again as the people in front began to stop and saw McGonagall setting an old battered hat on a three legged stool. Though the song the hat began singing soon after it was set down was impressive, Harry was instantly distracted by the sight of Nick and Nell sitting behind the High Table. They were at the very end on the right and both gave him a smile and a wave once they saw that he had noticed them and he eagerly returned it.

Harry snapped his head back to the hat as McGonagall called up Hannah to be sorted first. When it was merely placed on her head and in short order spouted out, "HUFFLEPUFF!" Harry realized that Cedric had been right on the train, they were being silly to be afraid of being sorted, even if it was still a bit nerve racking to have to wait and see where they would go.

Watching anxiously as Hermione and Neville were sorted into Gryffindor and Tracey and Daphne into Slytherin, Harry was startled to finally hear his own name come out of McGonagall's mouth. The walk up to the stool seemed much farther than it should have been but he made it in due time and perched on its edge, the hat falling over his eyes seconds later.

" _Interesting… very interesting."_ A voice spoke inside his mind. _"Plenty of courage I see, not a bad mind either, extremely loyal, and oh… quite eager to gain new friends it seems. Well, you would do very well in most of the houses but unfortunately I must place you in just one. Hmmm… I think it will be_ HUFFLEPUFF!"

Harry grinned from ear to ear as the hat was taken off of his head and he made his way to the table that was bathed in yellow and black. Clapping and cheers were coming from all four houses, though Slytherin was fairly muted, and he could see Fred and George looking at him in surprise before they broke out into hoots and hollers. A small pang of regret did flash through him when he realized that he wasn't going to be in the same house as Neville but he caught the boys eye and gave him a smile, which was gladly returned.

After sitting down next to Susan and getting a few pats on the back, Harry looked up at the High Table once again. Nick and Nell were beaming at him and Nick gave him a thumbs up to let him know that they were perfectly fine with where he had been sorted. They had already assured him multiple times since telling him about the houses that they would be happy with whichever house he went into but it was nice to have a confirmation of that.

He scanned the rest of the table as Padma Patil went into Ravenclaw and skimmed over all of the faces, most of which he didn't know, before alighting on a hooked nose man with greasy black hair that was sneering at him. He had met Severus Snape when he had come to speak with Nick sometime in the middle of August about potions and had been startled to see the man glaring at him before they were even introduced. Nell had put a swift stop to that however when she snapped at him and informed him in no uncertain terms that if he didn't stop then he could just turn around and leave without meeting her husband at all but Harry had still been wary of him and made sure to keep away from him while he was at the cottage.

Once Blaise was settled in at the Slytherin table with his two friends and McGonagall had taken the hat and stool away, the feast began to the delight of all of the starving students. Cedric came over at some point to congratulate him on his sorting and the Fat Friar joined them for the second half of the feast to answer any questions they had about the house or school.

Harry had just popped the last bite of his treacle tart into his mouth when all of the dishes and food vanished from the tables and Dumbledore stood up. "Now that we have all been properly fed and watered I would like to go over a few new changes to the school regarding the curriculum and our new Professors. For first year we have added 4 new classes which are Introduction to the Wizarding World, Introduction to Latin, Health and Wellness, and Introduction to Healing and First Aid—"

Susan poked Harry in the side several minutes later when she realized that he had actually dozed off at the beginning of the Headmaster's speech, missing all of the new classes introduced for the upper years as well as the majority of the new professors, and the raven haired boy was so startled when she did so that he nearly fell out of his seat, causing a few of his fellow house mates to clap their hands over their mouths to stifle their laughter.

"And last but not least," Dumbledore continued on, oblivious to the mini disruption. "Mr. Nicolas Flamel will be taking over as Potions Professor and will be offering the Alchemy elective to those 6th and 7th years wishing to take it while his wife Perenelle will be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor and will also be offering an elective for 6th and 7th years who are interested in Warding."

Excited whispers sprang up from many of the older students at hearing Nick's name and only grew as Dumbledore continued. It became so loud by the time he was done that he had to hold up a hand and wait for the whispers to cease before he could tell them to stay out of the Forbidden Forest, that they weren't allowed to do magic in the corridors, and when to expect the Quidditch tryouts to begin.

The walk to where the Hufflepuff dormitories was situated was a sleepy blur for Harry and his housemates, though they did make sure to pay attention to which barrel they needed to tap as well as the specific rhythm they would need to use on said barrel since none of them wanted to be sprayed with vinegar should they get either wrong. The large round common room they stepped into seemed overly comfortable and cozy, which only made the firsties even more sleepy, but they were shepherded through big round doors and up to their dormitories before they could get a good look around.

That Harry would be sharing a room with Justin Finch-Fletchley for the year hardly registered in his mind as he quickly changed into his pajamas and got into bed, falling asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

* * *

 **A/N 2:** So, I was actually planning to sort Harry into Gryffindor for the longest time until I actually started writing him and realized that my version is more Hufflepuff with Gryffindor traits rather than the other way around. I also think that it mixes it up a bit more so its not so standard Gryffindor Harry, which is done all the time, and we get to meet a lot more students. Hope you guys like it!

 **A/N 3:** I have a dilemma. I said in the first chapter that I would be posting each year as a separate story but as I got to writing this story, I can't decide if I want to continue with that original plan or make this one full epic length story with a gazillion chapters. Since I can't decide, I thought I would let you guys vote on what you would prefer. So feel free to PM me or leave a review, however you wish to do it, to let me know what you think. Thanks a bunch and thanks for reading.


	8. Getting Situated

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Harry travels on the Hogwarts Express where he meets new friends and, quite possibly, a new enemy before being sorted into Hufflepuff.

* * *

Early the next morning, too early in Harry's opinion, there was a light knock on the door and the raven haired boy rolled over in confusion before remembering where he was. "Yes?" He asked groggily.

An older boy that Harry barely recognized as having showed them to the common room last night opened the door and stood in the doorway. "Just wanted to make sure you guys are up and dressed in time, the first day is always the hardest. It's about 6:45 now and breakfast starts at 7:00 but Professor Sprout likes to greet all the first years and go over a few things before we show you guys the way back to the Great Hall."

"Ok thanks…" He paused and looked at the older boy questioningly.

"Adrian."

Harry stifled a large yawn. "Thanks Adrian, we'll be down in a bit."

Adrian nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

As the door closed Harry took a look around the room that he would be staying in for the next year and was not disappointed in what he saw. The room was split evenly down the middle from the door so that both boys had their own space and they each had their four poster beds covered with patchwork quilts, a small desk, armoire, and bookcase. The rounded windows along the walls began to lighten and show a pleasant view of what looked like an open meadow and those, coupled with the copper lamps, made everything feel warm and bright.

Climbing out of bed with a groan Harry made sure Justin was awake before starting to get ready for the day. 20 minutes later, both boys made their way down the hallway, that greatly resembled an underground tunnel, to the large round door that lead back to the Hufflepuff common room. Harry vaguely remembered Adrian telling them briefly last night that the first year's rooms were first in line followed progressively by the upper years along the long hallway.

Stepping into the common room, Harry and Justin found most of the remaining first years huddled around Professor Sprout and went to join them. "There you are Mr. Potter and Mr. Finch-Fletchley." Just then, Susan and Hannah stumbled out of the round door leading to the girl's dormitories looking half asleep. "Ah, and Ms. Bones and Ms. Abbot too, that is everyone I believe so we can go ahead and get started."

Though Harry really wanted to see just how comfortable those overstuffed sofas and armchairs were that were spread about the room, he decided against the very real possibility of falling asleep as a result and simply stood to the side to hear what Professor Sprout had to say.

"First off, I would like to officially welcome you to Hufflepuff house and I hope that you all enjoy yourself here for your time at Hogwarts. Please note that while Mr. Calderon and Miss Sutton did wake you this morning, they will not continue doing this in the future so please be sure to set your appropriate alarms from here on out. Breakfast starts at 7:00AM and curfew is at 9:00PM sharp though I would like you each to try and be in the common room at least 10 to 15 minutes beforehand to try and reduce the chance of you being caught out and receiving point deductions and/or detentions.

"Now, you will have noticed that you all have your own desk in your room that you can use to do assignments and such but I would like to encourage you to use the ones out here in the common room as much as possible. Not only can some of the upper years assist you if you need help but you can also create your own study groups to help each other if you wish." She paused here to look around them and focused on Harry when she saw his hand go up. "Yes Mr. Potter?"

"Are we allowed to create study groups with other houses too?"

Professor Sprout beamed at him. "While it is rather uncommon to see separate houses band together like that, you are most certainly allowed to give it a try Mr. Potter. Go ahead and take a point for such a great question and another point for your thoughtfulness."

Harry turned scarlet at that and ducked his head in embarrassment. While receiving praise from Nick and Nell had become the norm, receiving it from someone he didn't know was a completely different matter. "Thank you Professor." He mumbled.

After waiting a few moments to make sure nobody else had a question, Professor Sprout continued on with her speech. "Any notices, such as club activities or house announcements, will be posted on the common room notice board right over there." She said and pointed to a large board off to the right of the door leading out of the dormitories. "If you have your own notice you would like to put up please make sure you get permission from myself, one of the Prefects, or the Head Boy or Girl, should they be a Hufflepuff, to display it. And last but not least, while the students of our house do enjoy helping their younger housemates, our 5th and 7th years will have a busy year coming up and if you ask them and they tell you they cannot help you at that time, please respect that and try to find someone else to assist you. Are there any other questions?"

Harry looked around and noticed that quite a few older students were now milling around the common room with some even listening to Professor Sprout as she wound down. When nobody raised their hands she gave a short nod and stood up. "With that out of the way, Mr. Calderon and Miss Sutton will lead you back up to the Great Hall for breakfast and I will hand out your schedules at around 8:30. Your first class will start at 9:00 and just so you don't have to come back down here once you eat, I will go ahead and let you know that you will only need your Intro to the Wizarding World textbook since your only classes before lunch is that and Intro to Latin."

As she left, the two 5th year Prefects told them to run along and get their textbook. They were all back within a few minutes and were immediately led up the passageway to the entrance of the Hufflepuff Basement. As they filed out Harry noticed that the corridor they were in was filled with a bunch of paintings of food, including a rather large one depicting a large silver bowl of fruit. The journey to the Entrance Hall then across the way into the Great Hall took less than 5 minutes for the Puffs and before they knew it, they were sitting down at their table and partaking of the excellent breakfast that was set out before them while chatting excitedly about their classes coming up.

As he was walking to his first class, Harry was immensely glad that Professor Sprout had provided them each with a map of the school on the back of their schedules with their classes clearly marked because he was sure he and his fellow year mates would have gotten lost had they not had them. As it turned out, all of the new classes for first years, excluding Healing and First Aid which was in the Hospital Wing, were located in the 3rd floor corridor on the right hand side so they wouldn't have to travel very far from their first class to their second.

Introduction into the Wizarding World was taught by a rather quirky woman by the name of Professor Chloe Gardner and the first thing she had them do after taking roll was take a short quiz to see who knew what before she passed out massive amounts of fake Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts to everyone. What followed was nearly an hour full of trading and buying, items and their prices were based on cards that each person randomly drew, from each other using Wizarding currency so everybody could get a feel for how to use the strange coins. The Professor even wrote that days conversion rates into Pounds Sterling to give the muggle-borns an idea of how much they actually had in their hands.

Harry walked into Transfiguration on Tuesday morning for the double period they would be sharing with Gryffindor and immediately made for the empty seat next to Neville. They hardly had the chance to catch up though before Professor McGonagall demanded silence so that she could begin her lecture.

Harry made sure to take meticulous notes throughout the lesson so that he wouldn't miss anything in regards to the theory and application of Transfiguration. While the Flamels had him study over the summer and read at least the first few chapters in each of his textbooks, he had made sure to devote extra time into studying his text for this subject because it was supposed to be one of the most difficult branches of magic and he wanted to do well in it.

By the end of the lesson, Harry realized just how difficult Transfiguration was. While he was able to make some progress into transforming his match into a needle, he and Hermione were the only ones to actually even get that far.

"Transfiguring a match into a needle seemed pretty simple until we were asked to actually do it. It's still very fascinating but much harder than I realized it would be." Hermione said as she came to walk beside Harry and Neville on their way to the Great Hall for lunch.

"Yeah." Harry replied. "It's difficult to keep all of the variables together while your casting. I kept concentrating too hard on imagining the wood turning to metal and then the wand movements and spell itself, that I would forget to focus enough power into the spell when I finally cast it."

"At least yours looked somewhat like a needle by the end. I couldn't even manage to get mine to turn silver." Neville said dejectedly.

"But it did look rather pointy the last time you tried so don't beat yourself up. We will just have to make sure to practice and Hermione and I can try and help you out if you would like." Harry reassured the shy boy and looked questioningly to Hermione to make sure it was ok to include her like that.

"Of course I'll help. We could make a study group together if you want to."

Harry nodded. "I already asked Professor Sprout about studying with other houses and she said that it's fine. I was thinking that we should try and include all houses in the study group if we can."

"Even Slytherin?" Ron burst out, having been eavesdropping on their conversation.

Harry and Hermione gave him a disapproving look before Harry responded. "Why wouldn't I invite them. They're students the same as us and might like the help if they need it."

Ron spluttered a bit. "But Harry mate, they're Slytherins and evil, the whole lot of them."

"Don't be so dramatic Ron. I know three of them who are pretty nice. Weird sense of humor maybe, but nice overall."

"Well I'm not studying with those filthy snakes."

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I still plan on asking them to join us but it's your choice whether you decide to participate or not."

"Bloody mental." Ron murmured and stalked off into the Great Hall.

"Honestly, how can he think that just because they're in Slytherin it automatically makes them evil?" Hermione huffed.

"It must come from the Gryffindor Slytherin rivalry I heard about and the fact that all of his previous brothers were in Gryffindor so I'm sure he grew up hearing all about it and it just stuck with him." Harry said and paused just outside of the doors leading into the Great Hall.

"It's still a silly thing to think." She replied and then changed the topic back to the study group. "So I think we should meet up either Friday night or sometime over the weekend to study."

"Sounds good to me but I think we should wait until we have everybody who would like to join before we decide so we can get their opinions too. What do you think of those days Neville?" Harry asked his quiet friend.

"I think Saturday or Sunday would be best since most everybody will probably be trying to finish up their homework around then anyway."

"Makes sense. I'll talk to the other Puffs and see if any of them can reach out to the Ravenclaws, then I'll try and talk to one of the Slytherins and see what they would like to do. I'll let you guys know what happens." Harry said and they parted ways to go to their individual house tables.

That afternoon, Harry couldn't keep down his enthusiasm for their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Nell and ended up nearly running all the way there from the 3rd floor where they had just gotten out of their new Health and Wellness class.

Learning that Professor Max Bennett had organized it so that they could have a menu provided to them during meals so they could choose their own healthy options to eat rather than the feast style they had encountered with breakfast, lunch, and dinner had actually appealed to him since Healer Manning had mentioned that eating balanced meals coupled with regular exercise would help him to grow strong and healthy. That Nell told him soon after that the right exercises would ensure that he maximized his defensive training didn't hurt either, so by the end of their Health class he had opted to go with the menu option for now and see how he liked it.

Professor Bennett also offered to help them write up an exercise schedule and told them that if enough people showed an interest then Headmaster Dumbledore would allow him to create a gym of sorts that would be housed in one of the many empty classrooms within Hogwarts so they could exercise without worrying about the elements when it started to get cold outside. Harry decided to sign up for that option as well and made an appointment with the Professor to go over what type of exercises would benefit him most.

Harry managed to make it to Nell's classroom in just over 5 minutes and was, unsurprisingly, the first one there. "Hi Ne… Professor Flamel." He greeted, catching himself at the last minute.

Nell gave him a warm smile from where she sat behind her desk. "Good afternoon Mr. Potter. Please feel free to sit wherever you would like."

It didn't take long for the rest of his Hufflepuff year mates and the Slytherins they were sharing the class with to start filing in and Justin came up to sit with Harry at the front of the class. "Blimey Harry, you were out of there like a shot. Did you not like the Health class?"

"Oh no, it's not that. I was just really excited for this class."

"Why wou… oh I see. I keep forgetting that the Flamels are your guardians." Justin said as the bell rang and the last student took their seat.

"Good afternoon everyone," Nell said as she stood up. "My name is Professor Perenelle Flamel and I will be teaching you Defense Against the Dark Arts. Please say 'Here' when I call your name."

Once she was done taking roll she set the parchment down on her desk and stepped around it to stand in front of them. "Now, just so you all have an understanding of what you will be learning in this class, who can tell me what Defense Against the Dark Arts is?" She looked around at all of the raised hands before choosing someone. "Yes Mr. Zabini?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts is the study of how to defend oneself against Dark creatures and Dark magic." Blaise answered.

Nell nodded. "Very good. Take 2 points for Slytherin. Can anyone specify for me what Dark magic entails? Miss Jones."

Megan went slightly pink at being called upon. "Um, there are Dark spells, potions, and items. They are classified as Dark because they are used to cause harm or discomfort to the person they are being used on."

"Also correct. 2 points to Hufflepuff. As Miss Jones said, there are three main classifications of Dark magic but we will be focusing mainly on the Dark spells as well as Dark creatures until your N.E.W.T. years, at which point I will incorporate the potions and items portions into the curriculum. Does anyone know the three classifications of Dark spells? Miss Parkinson."

"Jinxes, hexes, and curses." Pansy said simply.

"Indeed. Take another 2 points for Slytherin. And who can tell us what the difference is between these three types of spells? Mr. Potter."

"Jinxes are spells that cause mild discomfort or inconvenience to the target and can be easily removed using a counter-jinx while hexes are designed to cause minor suffering and can sometimes be difficult to reverse the effects of without help, depending on which hex is used. Curses are the worst and are used to cause major injury, discomfort, or even death to the victim." Harry rushed out, surprised at himself for being able to remember all of that from his textbook. Then again, he had found his DADA texts to be the most exciting subject of all and spent nearly as much time on it as he did Transfiguration.

"Excellent and 2 more points to Hufflepuff. Now, as nasty as curses sound, there are a few that can be used in defense and you will eventually learn them in this class. I would like to warn you now however, that if I find out that any of my students are using these spells to bully or harass another, that student will receive a warning as well as punishment, on top of whatever punishment you may have already received and if you receive 3 warnings, you will no longer be allowed in my classroom. Do I make myself clear?"

She received affirmatives from everyone in the class but Susan raised her hand and immediately turned bright red when all eyes turned to her.

"Yes Miss Bones?"

"What do we do if we are the ones being bullied?"

"I would ask you to defend yourself as best you can without engaging your opponent until help arrives but if you feel that you are in enough danger, then you may use minor jinxes and the like to attempt to subdue them without causing injury. As long as your actions can be properly justified you should not be held accountable."

"How can we defend ourselves if we don't know how to block spells?" Anthony asked.

"That is a very good question Mr. Hopkins. Does anybody know?" Nell asked the class.

Harry's hand was the only one that went up, having asked Nell a similar question not too long ago.

"Yes Mr. Potter?"

"The best way to defend oneself against spells is to dodge them."

"2 points to Hufflepuff. Mr. Potter is quite right. Dodging spells is a very big part of defense and is used regularly in dueling when a duelist does not know what spell is being fired at them, therefore not knowing which shield would be best to use, or when they simply do not feel the need to take the time and energy to erect a shield. Because shield charms can be difficult to cast you will not be attempting them until 3rd or 4th year so until then, we will be focusing on dodging spells and I will even be setting up bi-weekly exercises to hone this skill.

"Are there any other questions? No? All right, as was mentioned before, you will be learning how to not just defend yourself against spells and the like but also against various Dark creatures. We will be starting with easily subdued creatures and most often than not you will learn a handy defense spell that you can use in duels should you ever find yourself in one. Who can give me some examples of Dark creatures?"

The class went on like this for nearly the entire period and Harry decided not even half way through that this was most likely going to be his favorite subject. In the remaining 15 minutes of class, Nell taught them how to shoot different colored sparks from their wand and told them that the charms could be used in self-defense as well as dueling and that the red sparks were often used to alert someone nearby that the castor is in danger and where they were located. She let them go for the day with an assignment to choose 3 spells from their various 1st year texts and explain the different ways those spells could be used to defend oneself.

Once they were let out, Harry waved goodbye to Nell and then rushed to catch up with Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise before they got too far away. "Hey guys. What did you think of the class?"

"It was great!" Tracey said excitedly. "I am so glad we got Professor Flamel starting this year. According to the upper years, the DADA professors had steadily been getting worse every year before this."

"Yeah, Nick and Nell told me that there had been a jinx on the position for a long time and that no professor had lasted more than a year. They got rid of it though, so Nell won't have to worry about that." Harry said.

"That's good. I would hate to see such a good professor have to leave. Professor Flamel really knows her stuff and I like the way she engages the class the way she does." Daphne chipped in.

Harry nodded in agreement. "It's my favorite class so far, though Charms was pretty interesting too, but we still have the rest of the week to see how the others turn out." When it didn't seem like any of them had anything else to say, he changed topic. "So I was talking to Hermione and Neville earlier and we decided to start a study group. I was wondering if you guys would like to join and if so, would sometime over the weekend work for you?"

All three of them stopped in their tracks, causing Harry to pass them up before he realized they weren't walking with him anymore.

"You want us to study with you?" Blaise asked in bewilderment.

"Sure, you can invite other Slytherins too if you want. I would have done it myself but I figured it would make them more comfortable if it was coming from some of their own. We are going to reach out to the Ravenclaws too so if they agree, we will have a pretty diverse group." Harry replied amicably.

They were silent for a moment before Tracey burst out. "You are so strange!" Before continuing in a calmer voice. "But yeah, I'd like to join. Blaise, Daphne, and I were going to make our own little study group but joining a big one like yours would probably be better."

"Great. How about you guys?" He asked looking to Daphne and Blaise.

They all agreed in the end and told him that Saturday would work best for all three of them before they went their separate ways.

An hour or so later, Harry sat down at the Hufflepuff table for dinner and a menu immediately appeared on the empty plate in front of him. Scanning the various options, he finally decided on tomato soup to start, followed by roast chicken breast, broccoli, and mashed potatoes. He touched each option with his wand and when he set the menu down, it disappeared and his bowl of soup appeared shortly after.

Just as he was halfway through the delicious soup, Ernie sat down in the open seat across from him and began piling food onto his plate. "I spoke with Terry Boot in Ravenclaw and he agreed to join the study group with us and is going to spread the word to his other year mates. I'll let you know who is interested and what times they prefer."

"Thanks Ernie. It seems like we are most likely going to end up doing it on Saturday and shortly after lunch would probably be best."

Ernie nodded. "That would be a good time to do it. I'll tell them thats what we are aiming for and see what they say. You excited for Potions on Thursday?"

Harry pushed his empty bowl away and it vanished then quickly replaced with the rest of his dinner. "I can't wait. Nick is pretty fun so I'm curious to see how he is going to teach us. He let me watch him brew a couple of potions over the summer and would explain everything he was doing and why, as he was brewing. It seemed really interesting."

"Are you talking about Professor Flamel's upcoming Potions class?" Hannah asked as she and Susan sat down on Harry's left.

"Yeah." Ernie answered. "After the DADA class today, I'm curious to see how the Potions class will be."

"I'm just glad that Snape character isn't teaching it anymore. I heard some really nasty things about how he favored the Slytherins and would take points from other houses for just blinking and breathing. He looks right mean too." Susan spoke up and they all gazed at the High Table, but it was as if Snape could tell they had been talking about him because he immediately turned a glare straight onto them, forcing them to look hurriedly away.

"Definitely glad he's not teaching anymore." Ernie murmured and they all laughed softly.

Their first class of Healing and First Aid the next day was intriguing to Harry. They met Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing and she introduced the young man standing next to her, who wore the same type of light green robes that Harry remember Trainee Healer Price wearing at St. Mungo's. "Settle down now everyone, thank you. Just in case some of you don't know, I am Madam Pomfrey and I am the head matron here at Hogwarts. Here beside me is Trainee Healer Bradley Pickett, who will be assisting me with the day to day activities of the Hospital Wing now that I have accepted the offer to teach your Healing class."

"Hello everybody!" Trainee Healer Pickett said jovially and gave them a wave. "I'm not really a stickler for formalities so please feel free to just call me Trainee Healer Brad if you like."

Harry heard some of the girls standing behind him start whispering to each other and he just shook his head when her heard the words cute and handsome being spoken, followed by a round of giggles.

"Very good, thank you Trainee Healer Brad. Since I only have you once a week, we are going to go ahead and dive right into the diverse branch of Healing magic, which endeavors to improve the physical and mental condition of a person. Since you are only 1st years, you won't yet have the magical ability to perform many of the different spells a Healer has at their disposal." At seeing some of the crestfallen faces she tacked on. "But don't fret, there are a few that you will be learning this year along with the standard first aid I will be teaching you.

"Now, if you will notice the various dummies lying on the beds around the room, I have rented these from St. Mungo's for you to use and learn on during your classes. These dummies are used regularly by Trainee Healers to learn how to properly care for and wrap the myriad of wounds that people seem to encounter on a day to day basis. If you would each please choose a bed and stand on the right side of each, we can get started on our lesson."

Once everybody was situated Madam Pomfrey and Trainee Healer Brad split between the two sides as the lecture continued. "You might be wondering why I am teaching you how to properly wrap a wound if we have magic that can seal most wounds in a matter of minutes yes?" Many of the students nodded as she gazed around the room. "Well, the simple truth is that I am not training you to be Healers, not yet anyway. I am here to teach you the best practices to use in case you come across someone who is injured and there is no adult or older student nearby to help you.

"If you look at the table right next to you, you will find a small first aid kit that has the standard equipment you would need to dress minor wounds. You will notice that if opened one way, the kit is empty, while if you open it the other way, the kit is full of your basic first aid supplies. The empty side will be explained when you have your Potions class with Professor Flamel. Please keep these kits with you at all times and come to me to replenish your supplies if you ever need to." She gave them all a moment to stow their kits in their bags then, as Trainee Healer Brad started handing out trays of different kinds of bandages to everyone, she went over to another dummy lying on a large table in the middle of the Hospital Wing. She pulled her wand and drew a line on the upper left arm and there were gasps all around as a cut appeared on the same arm of all of the other dummies which began to 'bleed'.

The rest of the class was spent learning how to properly stop bleeding and wrap wounds on various parts of the body, though the lesson was interrupted a few times by people getting queasy at the sight of the fake blood. All in all, Harry thought it would be a useful class in the long run and would probably decide to continue it when it became an elective instead of mandatory his 3rd year, especially considering what his future held.

"That was great!" Hannah exclaimed as they were leaving, nearly bouncing up and down in enthusiasm.

Susan, who still looked quite green from her recent bout of queasiness, groaned. "Easy for you to say. You've always been interested in stuff like this."

"Best get used to it Sue, you have 2 whole years left before you can opt out of the class." Hannah teased her friend. "I just wish we had the class more than once a week."

"If you're so interested in Healing Hannah, maybe you can ask Madam Pomfrey if you can shadow her and Trainee Healer Brad some nights or weekends. They may even let you help out around the Hospital Wing if it's nothing too difficult." Harry suggested to the eager girl.

Hannah's face lit up at the thought. "That's a brilliant idea Harry. I'm going to go ask her right now." She turned around and was gone before any of them could say another word.

"So Harry, I heard you were going to try out for the Quidditch team this year." Justin half asked, half commented as he stepped forward to take Hannah's vacant spot on his right.

Harry nodded. "I plan on talking to Madam Hooch about it this weekend so I can get her permission. I don't think I'll make it though."

"Oh come on now Harry, you haven't even tried yet. How can you think you won't make it if you haven't even given it a shot?" Susan asked.

"Well Cedric was the Hufflepuff Seeker last year and he said that he is going to try out again this year. I got to see him fly a bit over the summer and he is really good so I don't think I'd be able to do better than him. Maybe I'll be able to make it onto the reserve team though."

"Well, don't sell yourself short. Not many students have the skills to even try out their first year so you never know what might happen." She said, trying to boost his spirits.

"Thanks Susan, but I don't think I would mind too much if I lost out to someone like Cedric. Some of the moves he did were pretty brilliant."

Justin opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the reappearance of Hannah, who was slightly out of breath from running back and forth from the Hospital Wing.

"Guys! Madam Pomfrey said that she would think about an internship type position for a few select students who show promise in the class and that she will let us know by the end of the next class whether its something she is able to do." The blonde haired girl said excitedly.

"That's great Hannah." Susan said, very happy for her best friend despite her dislike of the subject. Ever since they were little, Hannah had always wanted to play Healer whenever it was her turn to choose a game and if either of them ever got hurt, she would watch either her mum or Susan's mum, depending on who's house they were at at the time of injury, perform whatever spells that were needed to patch them up. Learning Healing spells and how to bandage wounds would be infinitely better than Hannah attempting to poke her skinned knees or elbows with a stick and recite whatever incantation she heard their parent's say to no effect, other than to cause Susan more discomfort.

"Isn't it? Oh, I can't wait. Thanks again for the idea Harry."

"You're welcome Hannah." Harry said as he tapped the barrel barring the way to their common room and stepped in. Since they didn't have any more classes until Astronomy later that night, Harry and his housemates decided to relax a bit and work on the Latin homework they had been given on Monday.

Their first Potions class with Nick was everything Harry had hoped for, and more. Harry found it hilarious that Nick and Nell's bet that they had made about Dumbledore the weeks prior to school starting had resulted in Nick getting to be addressed by the students as Professor Nick and Nell as Professor Flamel, since calling them both by their last names would be very confusing. Apparently, they had been arguing about this since they had decided to take the positions and felt that a bet would be a good way to settle the decision.

Upon entering the Potions classroom, the first thing the students caught sight of were the numerous vine like plants that covered the walls and ceiling. According to Nick, they were a type of magical plant called Drearite Vine that absorbs fumes and vapors to sustain itself, so was perfect for the classroom since there were no windows for ventilation in the dungeons and it gave the otherwise dreary grey walls some much needed color.

The next thing they noticed was that each table was enchanted to show pictures detailing the differences between ground and powdered ingredients, sliced vs slivered, and examples of chopped, minced, and diced. The pictures cycled through each example and students could tap on the picture with their wand to freeze it in place then just tap it again to continue the cycle to another picture. These came in handy as Nick began explaining to them why it was important for them to prepare the ingredients the proper way and the majority of the class was spent practicing how to do each method using various non-magical ingredients.

Though the first class was interesting, the fun didn't really start until their double period the next day, which they shared with the Slytherins. After some instructions on stirring and the importance of keeping your work area clean and uncluttered while brewing, Nick started them on the very simple potion to cure boils and even stood in front of the class to brew his own to help them through the process and encouraged them to ask him any questions they thought of.

The class was well under way and Nick was looking down as he stirred in the porcupine quills he had just added when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye and snapped his head up to catch a small bright red object bounce off one of the shields he had surreptitiously placed on all of the student's cauldrons.

Justin had seen what looked like a small flaming ball coming towards him from the Slytherin section but had been too slow to react, so he was very relieved to see it bounce off of what seemed to be thin air and fall to the ground. He wasn't sure what the flaming ball would have done to his potion but he had no doubt that it would have been bad.

Nick came forward and, using a small pair of tongs, picked up what he could now see was a fire seed before looking to the right side of the room. All students now had their eyes on him as he scrutinized the Slytherins. "I don't know who threw this but seeing as how it came from your direction I will give whoever it was 10 seconds to confess. Should I reach the count of 10 and nobody has come forward I will take 1 point off of Slytherin, at the 15 second count I will remove 2. I will continue to take an increasing amount of points for every 5 seconds that passes that the culprit remains silent after that."

The Slytherins looked at him in horror, but nobody moved to gaze at who they knew had done it… not yet anyway.

"Your 10 seconds starts now." Nick walked back to the front of the class, casually casting an area wide stasis charm on the cauldrons, and simply stood there, looking out at them all. Once the 10 seconds was up he said calmly. "1 point from Slytherin." Another 5 seconds. "2 points from Slytherin."

On it went and as Nick took another 6 points from Slytherin for a total of 21 points so far, some of the snakes began glaring at Malfoy, who was going slightly pink in anger and embarrassment.

Another 5 seconds and Blaise shoved Malfoy in the shoulder and whispered harshly. "Fess up Malfoy, we aren't going down for your stupidity."

Nick opened his mouth to take a further 8 points when Malfoy finally stepped forward. "I threw it Professor."

Nick looked at him and then down at the fire seed. "It is an interesting choice Mr. Malfoy and it shows that you are already quite gifted in the knowledge of potions and their reactions to certain ingredients at different stages. Fire seeds are not part of the ingredients for this potion, meaning you took it specifically from the ingredient cupboard, no doubt knowing that throwing it into Mr. Finch-Fletchley's potion right after he added the porcupine quills would cause the potion to heat instantly and explode, thus, ruining the potion entirely and harming at least one student and possibly others. Therefore, you will be receiving a zero for todays assignment for attempting to ruin a fellow students work and a further 10 points from Slytherin with a detention to go with it for endangering your classmates."

Malfoy's face was beet red by the time Nick had finished. Not only had he lost Slytherin a total of 38 points in one go but he had gotten a zero on what would have been a perfect potion and then a detention on top of everything else. "When my father hears about this…"

"Your father may of course come and speak with me about your behavior anytime he wishes Mr. Malfoy but it will not change the punishment that I handed out nor will it affect any punishment I see fit to administer in the future. I take the safety of my students very seriously and if it takes drastic measures for you and everyone else to realize that I will not tolerate such behavior in my classroom, then so be it." Nick replied, unfazed by the threat.

Malfoy glared at him but didn't say anything else.

"Now, since you will not be receiving credit for your assignment it is up to you whether you wish to finish it. If you choose not to then you may clean up your workstation and sit quietly reading your potions book until the end of class."

Malfoy stormed over to his workstation and continued with his potion while ignoring the dirty looks being throw his way from his fellow Slytherins. He didn't speak to anybody or look up for the rest of the class.

Nick got everyone's attention as he moved to secure the fire seed back in its original place in the ingredient cupboard and said. "As unfortunate as the attempted sabotage was, let this be a lesson to each of you on why it is important to follow the instructions for a potion as it is written and not attempt to experiment until you know enough about the ingredients you are using and their reactions. Even then, you are not to attempt such alterations without consulting me first. Should an accident occur because you felt like having a bit of fun with your potion, I will not be lenient with your punishment. Potions can be very dangerous if not handled appropriately and some injuries due to potion accidents cannot be undone, even with magic."

There were nods from all of the students, excluding Malfoy, and Nick waved his wand to cancel the stasis charm. "You may continue with your potions and please don't hesitate to ask if you have a question or need assistance."

There was a tense silence after this as various students thought over Nick's words and Malfoy's actions. It was clear to many that the blond Slytherin had known full well that sabotaging Justin's potion would have resulted in injuries. The fact that he cared more about the point deductions and detention than the fact that he could have hurt some of his fellow students did not sit well with many of the Hufflepuff's at all and they vowed to keep a closer eye on Malfoy in the future.

As time went by, the classroom was slowly but surely filling up with pink smoke rising from the various cauldrons as students completed their potions and Nick began to hand out two vials to each student that had finished, while inspecting Malfoy's potion carefully before giving him only one. "Please spoon some of your potion into one of these vials and bring it up to me." When a group of them attempted to step forward all at once, Nick chuckled. "Perhaps forming a line would be best. Mr. Malfoy you may spoon some of your potion into that vial and then clean up your station."

The next twenty or so minutes was spent with Nick inspecting each potion brought to him, labeling it, then telling some students to spoon another sample of their potion into the second bottle they had been given before cleaning up their workspace while a few other students were told to simply clean up.

When he had finished with the last student, Nick stood and summoned the empty vial of Crabbe, Goyle, Millicent, and Megan before heading to his cauldron to begin filling each with his own potion. "Since you all did so well on your potions today, I will allow you to keep the potions you brewed in case you or another student are ever in need of it, and do not worry, I have already received Madam Pomfrey's permission to let you do this so as not to bring about her ire." There was laughter all around at this and he continued once it got quiet again. "She actually provided you with a perfect carrying case for the potions I will be letting you keep in the future in the form of the first aid kit you received. So you can go ahead and store your bottled potion in the empty side of the kit."

As they proceeded to do just that, Nick spoke to the four students whose vials he was currently holding. "Mr. Crabbe, Mr. Goyle, Miss Bulstrode, and Miss Jones, it seems as if you were a bit too energetic when you were stirring in your Shrake spines and as a result, your potion came out a bit weaker than I would have liked, which is why I will be providing you with my own. Please do not fret, it is a very easy mistake to make and your potions were still very well done for your first time but I imagine that if you took them then they would only partially work and we don't want that.

"I have already cast the necessary preservation and unbreakable charms on the vials so the potions should last you about 6 months before they begin to lose potency and once they turn grey I would very much recommend you dispose of them as drinking an expired Boil Cure potion can cause very bad stomachaches." He said as the 3 Slytherins and 1 Hufflepuff stepped forward to get their potion. "Now, next week we will be working on the Burn-healing paste so for your homework I would like you to write down the recipe and instructions on brewing it and then write examples of how the potion can go wrong if you do not follow the instructions correctly or miss an ingredient. You can use no less than 4 separate ingredients or steps but please do not use more than 6 if you choose to use more. I just gave you a great example of what I am looking for when I explained to you how stirring too vigorously right after adding the Shrake spines caused the potion to come out weaker so keep this in mind when you are doing the assignment. Are there any questions?"

He scanned the room but nobody raised their hand. "Very well, I will have the results of your potions by the beginning of your next class and if you think of any questions to ask me before then, feel free to stop by my office." He looked down at his watch. "You have about 4 minutes until the bell rings but since you are all ready, you can go ahead and leave early to lunch."

While everyone filed out of the classroom, babbling excitedly to each other, Harry held back until they were all gone and then went to speak with Nick.

"Hello Harry, how did you like the class?" Nick asked him as he began to clean up his workstation.

"It was brilliant! I had a lot of fun and you showing us how to brew the potion helped a lot I think." Harry replied happily.

Nick gave a chuckle and fond smile at Harry's enthusiasm. "Well I'm glad you liked it. You did very well on your potion and I can't wait to tell Nell. She told me all about how good you were in her DADA class the other night at dinner."

Harry stood a little straighter and blushed slightly. "She did?"

"Oh yes. We can't wait to see your first graded assignment so you better come and show us as soon as possible once you receive it, no matter what class its in ok?" Nick knew he was laying it on a bit thick but he and Nell never passed up the opportunity to give Harry praise, or any positive emotion for that matter, since he had grown up with hardly any.

"I will, I promise." Harry said.

"Good. Now I've got a few more things to do before I'm done here so why don't you head up to lunch. Oh, and try to drink more water than you normally would since you will be working out in the greenhouses for most of the afternoon and we don't want you getting dehydrated. You should probably let your friends know too."

Harry's head bobbed up and down as he nodded. "Ok." He said and turned to leave, giving Nick a wave.

As he made his way to the Great Hall for dinner later that evening, Harry thought about his first week of classes at Hogwarts. He had certainly had fun learning about all of the different aspects of magic but he did feel a bit overloaded with everything he had been forced to take in. He was immensely glad that Nell had given him two weeks to settle into his new schedule before they started on his private defense training on the weekends and one weekday as well as his new exercise regimen but couldn't wait to see what she would be teaching him in the future.


	9. Training and Quidditch Tryouts

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Harry and his new friends experience their first week at Hogwarts and find out just what is in store for them in the coming years. Nick and Nell make lasting impressions on their new students as they get back into the rhythm of teaching again and Malfoy makes a spectacle of himself in one of Nick's classes.

 **A/N:** I forgot to mention in the last chapter that, due to popular vote and my own personal preference, I will be making this an epic length story instead of posting the years individually. Sorry to those that were looking forward to the separate stories but I think this will work out much better all around. Thanks for the awesome reviews!

* * *

Harry's second week at Hogwarts passed just as quickly as his first and, before he knew it, Saturday had come and he was meeting Nell in an abandoned classroom on the fourth floor that she had claimed right down the hall from her and Nick's quarters. When he walked in he saw that the room was completely empty except for five targets set up against the right hand wall, a large mat in the middle of the room, and three dummies standing upright in front of the left hand wall.

"Good morning Harry." Nell greeted him as she walked up from behind, making him jump slightly.

"Morning Nell." He responded brightly. "What are you going to start teaching me today?"

Nell laughed softly at his eagerness and herded him into the middle of the room. "Today, I think I will teach you the very useful body-bind curse but that will not be the only thing we work on. You see the targets against that wall there?" Harry nodded his head. "Since learning how to paralyze someone is most ineffective if you fail to hit them, you will be using those targets to work on your aim. They are stationary right now but they are charmed to move around should I give the command for them to do so but we will see how well you do before we decide to use that setting."

"What are the dummies for?"

"Those are charmed to fire a very mild dye type charm, which will leave a dot of red wherever it hits, and we will begin using those to work on your dodging. I thought it would be best to work on your aiming on Saturdays and dodging on Wednesdays to mix it up a bit. The dots are so you can see how many spells you would have been hit with once the simulation is done and so you have a visual aid of your progress down the line."

"I understand." He said, nodding vigorously and drawing his wand, impatient to start. "So, how do I cast a body-bind curse?"

"Well, I suppose we can discuss your new exercise regimen at the end." Nell said and drew her own wand to go about showing Harry the proper wand movement and incantation for the curse.

An hour and a half later, as Nell conjured chairs for the both of them, Harry was contemplating just how difficult it actually was to hit the targets he was training on, especially in the last fifteen minutes when Nell deemed him ready to attempt to hit them while they were moving. His score, which had steadily been getting higher as his aim steadied and he began hitting the bulls eye more often than not, dropped significantly as the targets began to move around the wall. The movement was sluggish at best but still a big enough change from their previous stationary setting that Harry was thrown off for at least ten minutes before he began to get back his rhythm.

He was extremely glad she had made him use the spell to shoot red sparks at the targets rather than the body-bind curse, once he had successfully learned it, because simply jabbing his wand forward to say the quick incantation had been much easier than he imagined the wand movement coupled with the long incantation of the body-bind would have been. That feeling was short lived however, once she told him that next Saturday she expected him to use the body-bind instead so that he could learn to cast it quickly without jeopardizing the spells power and accuracy.

"So, do you have the parchment Professor Bennett gave you about the exercise regimen he thought would be best for you?" Nell asked as she sat.

"Yes." Harry said and went to his discarded bag where it sat next to the door, rummaged around for a bit before he pulled the sought after parchment out, and walked back over to hand it to her.

"Hmm, running for 30 minutes to an hour in the morning along with some form of calisthenics at least 3 times per week. This seems reasonable, especially when coupled with the training we will be doing as well as Quidditch practice once you make the team tomorrow." She commented as a huge smile spread across Harry's face at the mention of the very much anticipated Quidditch tryouts. Even if he only made the reserve team, he would still be expected to attend the practices so as to learn strategies and continue to better himself. "I think your training on Wednesday can count towards one of the 3 for calisthenics since you will get a bit of a work out when doing it but it will be up to you whether you wish to do more than that."

Harry bit his lip as he thought about it before he asked her. "What do you think I should do."

She gave him a smile as she responded. "I recommend counting Wednesday for now and doing only 2 other days until you can determine how strenuous that, combined with the running, Quidditch, and the Saturday training, will be on you before deciding to add anymore on top of it. You might also want to think about taking two days off from running, perhaps Saturday or Sunday and Thursday since that is the day after your Astronomy lesson."

"That makes sense. I think I will go with that and take off Sunday." He said and then looked at her as if he was going to ask a question but stopped himself.

"What is it sweetheart?" She asked softly.

"I was wondering if maybe Neville and Hermione could join us for training." He asked hesitantly.

Nell was quiet for a moment as she thought it over. "I can understand you wanting to invite them but why don't you go ahead and give me your reasons for wanting to."

"Well, Neville is a great bloke and all but he doesn't seem to have a lot of confidence in himself so I was hoping training with us might help with that and Hermione just loves learning anything new but also…"

"Yes?" Nell prodded when it seemed like he didn't want to continue.

"I want to make sure my friends know how to defend themselves for when Voldemort comes back." He rushed out.

Nell gave a sad sigh at hearing this. It had taken her and Nick days after telling Harry the prophecy to convince him that he shouldn't attempt to hide himself away from everybody for fear of them getting hurt because of him. They hated that he had to worry about something like this in the first place but were immensely glad that they had finally gotten through to him and that he seemed to be making a solid group of friends here at Hogwarts.

The study group they had created was the talk of the staff room after its first meeting last Saturday, which had taken place in the Great Hall shortly after lunch, and many of the professors had sat back to see how it progressed and to make sure that there was no infighting during it. The group of first years had outdone themselves though and Nell could be seen, right along many of the others, beaming down at Harry helping some of his fellow students with their Transfiguration and DADA, Neville with Herbology, Hannah with Healing and Hermione flitting around helping with anything and everything in between.

"I think thats a wonderful idea Harry but what about your other friends?" She inquired.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "They probably wouldn't mind joining, except maybe Hannah since she is pretty obsessed with the Healing internship Madam Pomfrey invited her to earlier this week, but I thought it would be better to start with just a couple and if they like it and find it useful then maybe we could start something separate but similar where everybody could join."

"You mean like a club?"

Harry nodded. "Hermione was telling me about all the different kinds of clubs that were listed in Hogwarts: A History and we think some type of Dueling club would work best."

"Very well, Neville and Hermione can start on Wednesday but be sure to warn them that it will be a bit strenuous. As for the club, if you guys can work up a report on how it will be organized as well as what exactly your goals for it will be then I will present the proposal to Professor McGonagall and if she approves, I will speak with Professor Flitwick about helping me sponsor it, perhaps starting next year."

"Thanks Nell! That would be great." Harry beamed happily.

"You are very welcome Harry. Now, I think we are done for today and it's almost lunchtime so why don't we start heading down to the Great Hall." She said and stood, making sure to lock the room behind them when they left.

Sunday afternoon found Harry standing nervously out on the Quidditch pitch with his Nimbus 2000 grasped tightly in his hands. Once he had spoken to Madam Hooch about trying out and she had seen him fly in their lesson on Thursday, she had given him her permission to both try out for the team as well as use his own broom, which Nell had brought along for him and held in their quarters just in case.

"You ready Harry?" Cedric asked from his left, smiling down at him.

"I… I think so." He responded and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants.

Cedric gave him a pat on the back. "You'll do great. Just focus on whatever drills they put you through and forget about everything else. You're an excellent flyer for your age and you have great reflexes."

"Thanks Cedric." Harry was immensely glad that Cedric wasn't upset with him for wanting to go up against him for the Seeker position but even with the older boy's words, Harry was still nervous. He turned towards the stands, which were fairly packed due to so many people wanting to come out and "See the firstie get put in his place" or so some of the older Slytherins said, but he knew some of them were there to cheer him on and he waved to his friends, who were all huddled together and screaming his name.

"All right you lot." Dominic Chandler, the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain, barked. "Everyone who's looking to try out, I want you up in the air and give me a lap around the pitch."

Harry mounted his broom, along with about 20 others, and took off into the sky. As he sped forward, the wind hitting his face, Harry let out a whoop of joy and grinned at Cedric, who was easily keeping pace with his Cleansweep 7. The burly 3rd year grinned back and sped up slightly so as to overtake Harry, which immediately started an impromptu race between the two as they made their lap, zigzagging around each other, trying to get the upper hand.

Dominic nodded his head in satisfaction when they both came to a sudden but controlled halt right in front of him. "Good show chaps. Keep it up and I'm going to have a difficult time choosing my main Seeker. Now, let's see how you do with the small obstacle course I set up." He said and pointed towards an area of the pitch that had moving vertical and horizontal bars floating around the oval shaped course, along with rubber balls the size of Bludgers appearing out of nowhere to shoot from random directions. "This will show me how well you can dodge Bludgers and players alike."

Cedric went first and Harry gave a small groan as he made it through the obstacle course without being hit once, even when the bars and balls seemed to speed up the closer he got to the end. Harry didn't do as good as his competition and ended up getting grazed by one of the balls and nearly flew smack into one of the poles as he tried to dodge two balls that came at him at the same time and just barely managed to avoid the collision with a hurriedly executed Sloth Grip Roll.

Once everyone had made their way through the obstacle course, some being asked to leave and try again once they could handle a broom properly, Dominic started them on their individual position drills. Harry, Cedric, and a 4th year by the name of Hollie White, who was the only other one to try out for the Seeker position, were called up one by one to catch golf balls that were banished towards them before they hit the ground. Cedric and Harry ended up catching all 10 while Hollie only managed 6 out of the 10 and they watched in not a little bit of sympathy as she walked dejectedly off the pitch with a "Better luck next year" ringing in her ears.

After putting the other position hopefuls through their paces, it finally came time for Cedric and Harry to go head to head with a real Snitch while a mock game went on with the others.

"Ok you two, this practice Snitch is set to come back to me after 15 minutes if it's not caught so thats how long you have to try and impress me even more. Treat this as a real game and do what you must, without fouling, to try and catch the Snitch before your opponent. Get up in the air and I'll release it with the others when you're in position." Dominic said, holding up the practice Snitch, which looked just like a regular Snitch but with the word _Practice_ written across it in black.

After a brief handshake, Harry and Cedric took off into the air once again and went their separate ways to get into position. Dominic released the Bludgers and Quaffle then finally let go of the Snitch, which disappeared instantly, and they were off zooming around the pitch, eyes constantly scanning the area and never focusing on any one thing for longer than a second before moving on.

It wasn't until the 10 minute mark, as Harry was dodging a well aimed Bludger, that he saw a glint of gold hovering near the goal posts at the opposite end of the field. As he was deciding whether to try and fake not seeing it and glide innocently over or to just make a break for it, he saw Cedric perk up from out of the corner of his eye and knew that the decision had just been taken out of his hands so he burst forward towards the Snitch, quickly followed by Cedric.

They were neck and neck as they closed the distance, weaving through the other players, and Harry lay flat on his broom to try and give himself that few extra inches that would help him against the larger boy's longer reach and just managed it as they approached the goal posts and were in reaching distance of the Snitch, when it suddenly lurched upwards and began zooming up and behind them.

They put on the brakes as they spun around as quickly as possible, Harry going a little wider than he meant to, and took off in a steep climb towards the sky after the elusive golden orb. Circling each other as they climbed higher and higher, they were both completely vertical, standing rather than sitting on their brooms with their foot pegs the only things keeping them from sliding off the end. The other players had stopped playing completely at this point and sat motionless in the air to watch their battle and, had Harry been aware of anything but the Snitch just out of his reach, he would have heard nearly every first year screaming and cheering him on down in the bleachers.

The Snitch was climbing ever higher as they closed in on it and both boys reached their hands out to grab it but Harry's wide turn had cost him and he hadn't managed to regain the few inches he had lost before Cedric's hand closed around the golden Snitch and he raised it above his head in victory.

As they both came back to the world around them, they finally noticed the other players and those in the bleachers going wild. Harry's eyes grew wide as he saw that there were much more students, and even professors, than there had been at the start of the try outs.

"It's not every day a first year gets permission to try out for a house team." Cedric said when he saw what Harry was staring at. "Come on, why don't we head down and see what Dominic has to say about the match."

"That was brilliant you two. I haven't seen flying like that in Hufflepuff since I was a firstie." Dominic grinned as they landed and Cedric handed him back his practice Snitch. "Now I'm sure you are eager to hear what I have to say in regards to my selection of Seeker and since there is only two of you, I'll go ahead and tell you now."

Both Harry and Cedric leaned forward slightly in anticipation.

Dominic let out a chuckle before he answered. "Well, as great as both of you did, due to his catch of the Snitch, his experience, and his flawless pass through the obstacle course, I'm going to have to go with Cedric here, with Harry as reserve." Harry's face fell at hearing this, even though he had known he wouldn't make the starting position, it was still a disappointment to hear. At seeing Harry's look Dominic put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Harry, you did really well and had Cedric not been trying out then you would obviously be my first choice but I have to think about the team as a whole and Cedric just did better."

Harry nodded to him and managed a small smile.

Dominic gave his shoulder a pat before he pulled his hand back. "You are still going to be the reserve, which means you will officially be a part of the team and will be required to attend all practices and Hufflepuff games. I would like you to attend all non-Hufflepuff games too, if you are able, so Cedric and I can feed you info on the other Seekers and their various styles. By the time we are done with you, you will be the prime pick for the open Seeker position when Cedric graduates. And who know, maybe you will even get it next year if you practice hard enough."

When Harry gave him another nod, Dominic turned towards the other players, who had since landed. "All right, I have some decisions to make on you lot too and since there are so many great candidates I will be thinking over everything tonight and you will see the new team list on the notice board in the morning. Why don't you all go get cleaned up and ready for dinner."

A cheer went up from all of them and they made their way off the pitch.

"Do you hate me now?" Cedric asked from his right.

Harry looked up at him and saw that the dark haired teen was slightly nervous but he couldn't fathom why. "Of course not. I figured my chance as slim to none in beating you but wanted to at least put my name out there for the future."

Cedric let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He and Harry had spent some time hanging out over the summer when Cedric was invited over to fly and the younger boy was easily becoming the little brother he never had. Cedric was extremely glad that he didn't hate him over this. "Good. I just wanted to check."

Before Harry could respond, he was set upon by his friends, who tried to congratulate him on his great flying all at once.

"Thanks guys." Harry said as they quieted a bit. "I obviously didn't make the main team but I will be playing reserve."

This set them all off again until a condescending voice broke through the noise. "Think you're special don't you Potter?" Everybody turned to see Malfoy, his ever present bookends standing menacingly behind him, with a sneer etched across his face. "They only let you on the team because of your fame you know. I could have done a better job than that pitiful attempt at what you call flying."

"Then why didn't you Malfoy?" Harry asked, rolling his eyes.

"I was told first year aren't allowed. Then again, I don't have a great ruddy big scar on my forehead do I?" He retorted.

"That's rubbish and you know it. Besides, if one of the professors had told you that, we all know you would have gone running to daddy to come and complain for you again." Harry quipped and Malfoy went pink.

The showdown between Lucius Malfoy and Nick had been the talk of the castle for the past week. Ever since Malfoy senior had come to confront Nick about his punishments against Draco.

 _It was their second Monday morning in school and breakfast was well under way when a man with pale blond hair and a pointed face, who could be none other than Draco's father, stormed into the Great Hall. He paused a second to scan the High Table, while the room went completely silent, before he began making his way to where Nick and Nell sat calmly reading their Daily Prophets._

 _"_ _Ah Lucius. To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?" Dumbledore asked, standing up._

 _"_ _I am not here to see you Dumbledore." The man snapped and finally came to a stop in front of Nick. "Just what do you think you are doing Flamel, giving my son detention and a zero for his perfectly made potion assignment?"_

 _Nick brought his newspaper down, folded it neatly, and took a sip of tea before he finally chose to look up and speak to Malfoy, who was seething at the blatant snub. "I'm deeply sorry but do I know you?"_

 _"_ _My name is Lucius Malfoy, father of Draco Malfoy." He spat._

 _"_ _I see." Nick, who knew perfectly well who he was and why he was here, responded and took another sip of tea. "And what can I do for you Mr. Malfoy."_

 _"_ _You can tell me why you have unfairly punished my son."_

 _Nick tilted his head to the side and looked deep in thought. "I don't seem to recall distributing any unfair punishments lately and I have only had your son in my class twice so far."_

 _"_ _It was on Friday and you removed 38 points from his house, gave him a detention, and gave him a 0 for his potion assignment, you imbecile. Surely you remember that?" He asked, sarcasm dripping from every word._

 _"_ _Oh of course. That was for a very good reason I'm afraid. Your son attempted to sabotage another students work, which could have resulted in injuries to said student and others had I not erected shields over all of the student's cauldrons."_

 _"_ _Well I do not think it a good enough reason and neither does the Board of Governors." He said with a sneer and threw down a rolled up piece of parchment and continued as Nick picked it up to read it. "That is a petition signed by over half of the other Governors to overrule your punishments regarding my son."_

 _"_ _Indeed it is." Nick said, rolling the parchment back up once he was done and set it down next to his plate. "Most unfortunate it's not valid."_

 _"_ _Excuse me?"_

 _"_ _It's quite simple Mr. Malfoy. As a parent, you have every right to petition the Board of Governors to investigate and pass judgment if you feel your child has been unjustly punished by a professor." When it looked like Malfoy was opening his mouth to speak, Nick simply rode over him. "However, when a a parent is a member of that same Board of Governors they must first take their complaint to the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Unless their complaint is against the Headmaster, at which point, they would go to the Deputy Headmistress instead. This is to ensure that there is no… friends helping friends, if you would allow the phrase."_

 _"_ _How dare you!" Malfoy barked._

 _"_ _Did you receive anything regarding such a complaint Headmaster?" Nick asked, ignoring the outburst and turning to Dumbledore._

 _Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling like crazy but he kept his face solemn as he responded. "I am afraid not. Deputy Headmistress?"_

 _"_ _I have not." McGonagall replied crisply._

 _Nick turned back to their visitor. "Well there you have it Mr. Malfoy. Your son's punishment stays unless you would like to take it up with the Headmaster. Furthermore, I find it highly disconcerting that you care more about young Mr. Malfoy's punishment than you do with the fact that he could have seriously hurt his fellow students. Especially when you are the current Chairman of the Board of Governors, which is meant to help the school run efficiently as well as ensure the safety of the students. Perhaps an investigation into Mr. Malfoy's appointment on the Board is in order, seeing as he doesn't seem to care about the student's well being and he attempted to use his connections within the Board to achieve his own personal goal." Nick directed at Dumbledore._

 _"_ _I agree entirely Professor Flamel and I will send them an owl as soon as I am able. I too find it troublesome that they either ignored the rules of the Board or Mr. Malfoy fooled them into believing he had already spoken with me on the matter." Dumbledore said._

 _"_ _If there is nothing else I can assist you with then I bid you a good day." Nick said genially, nodding to the man standing in front of him, who was now beet red in anger. "Oh and should you have any issues with any possible future punishments, I would suggest you send an owl rather than interrupt the student's meal."_

 _Malfoy's face morphed into surprise, as if he had just now remembered that he was currently standing in the Great Hall, which was packed with even more students than before, watching him being taken down a peg. "This is far from over." He said and turned abruptly, storming back out of the Hall, quickly followed by Draco, both aware of the laughter and whispers that started up as they left._

Draco had been taking jibes about the confrontation ever since and continuously sent glares Harry's direction, as if it was his fault the blond ponce had gotten in trouble in the first place.

The Slytherin didn't have anything to say in response to Harry's taunt so simply turned around and walked off, after giving them all severely dirty looks of course.

Cedric shook his head at the blond Slytherin's antics. "Come on guys, it's almost time for dinner." He said and began herding all of the first years back up to the castle as they chattered excitedly about the tryouts.

Wednesday's training started at 7:30PM sharp for Harry, Neville, and Hermione, who was practically jumping up and down in excitement, and after Nell went over how the targets and dummies worked, she started the two new arrivals on the body-bind curse to catch them up while Harry began dodging spells being fired from one of the dummies.

After only a few minutes of jumping, rolling, sliding, and tripping over his own feet, Harry was panting and beginning to sweat from the exertion and decided that he would definitely be keeping up with his running and other exercises if only so he wouldn't seem so utterly pathetic and out of shape. By the three minute mark, he was glad that Nell had put some kind of cushioning charm on the mat or he was sure he would be covered in various bruises by now and as five minutes passed and he rolled out of the way of another spell, he had difficulty getting back up on his feet in a hurry.

Nell, who had been watching for this, quickly deactivated the dummy. "That was very well done Harry." At the disbelieving look he gave her as he tried to catch his breath she gave him a sharp nod to reinforce her statement. "It may not have seemed like it but you did very good for your first time and you lasted a few minutes more than I originally thought you might. Remember, you're using a lot more muscles and moving much more than you do when you run so it's not very surprising that you get tired so quickly."

Harry thought about it and realized she was right, his running on Monday hadn't felt nearly this tiring, nor had the various calisthenic exercises he had done.

"Now, look at yourself and see how you did on dodging." Nell advised and flicked her wand at the dummy, making a large red 32 appear above its head. "The dummy was working at its lowest setting, meaning that it fired 6 spells per minute, or 1 spell every 10 seconds, so it looks like you lasted about 5 minutes and 20 seconds. How many dots can you count on your front?"

Harry looked down and was disheartened to see a multitude of red dots all along his person, counting 13 total that he could see and he said so to Nell, who made him spin around so she could see if there were any on his back. She announced 3 more on his back, one on his face, and one on his neck making a total of 18 spells he had been hit with and only 14 he had managed to dodge.

When Nell saw Harry's look of disappointment at his numbers she was quick to reassure him. "Again Harry, you did exceedingly well for you first time and you will only get better as time goes on." She raised a small dark red journal up for them to see and directed her next statement at all three of them. "I am going to keep your scores in this journal so that you can have a visual of how your progress is going so if you would like to know your numbers, just ask me and I can show you at any time.

"Why don't you go and get a drink of water Harry and rest for a bit before you practice using your body-bind curse on the targets while Neville tries his hand at the dummy and Hermione continues her practicing." All three nodded and went their separate ways in the room.

While Neville turned out to be worse than Harry, only lasting 3 in a half minutes and dodging 8 out of 21, Hermione was actually even more so. She had managed to last longer than Neville at 4 minutes and 43 seconds but had gotten hit 23 times out of her 28, only dodging a total of 5 spells. They could all see how much this upset the girl and rushed to try and make her feel better, though it wasn't until Harry suggested that she start running with him in the mornings that she got her determination back and gave the dummy a dirty look that promised retribution on this injustice.

They each managed to go three rounds with the dummies before calling it quits for the night, as they were all very tired and sweaty and Harry still needed to get cleaned up and take a nap before Astronomy at midnight. Before splitting up, Neville and Hermione thanked Harry and Nell for letting them participate with them and promised to be there on Saturday to work on aiming and casting.

The next morning brought a surprise for Hermione as she nearly bowled Harry over after stepping out of the portrait hole that lead to Gryffindor tower because she was turned almost completely backwards as she animatedly explained to Neville how an electric alarm clock worked. "Harry? What are you…" She began but trailed off as she saw the wrapped present in his hands.

"Happy Birthday Hermione!" He sang and handed the gobsmacked girl her present.

"You guys didn't have to get me anything." She said but looked very pleased and as if she were about to cry. That she had actually started crying when she had come down the girls staircase and Neville had been nervously waiting for her at the bottom while holding something behind his back was not spoken of. The girl had been utterly speechless as Neville handed her a tall rectangular box with holes throughout and grew impossibly red as he stuttered out a "Happy Birthday" of his own.

When she had opened the box, it was to find a very beautiful, very vibrant red flower, that looked somewhat like a hibiscus, within. She oo'ed and ahh'ed before going quiet when she could have sworn she heard quiet humming coming from the flower and got excited when Neville proceeded to tell her that the plant was called a Singing Echronna and, if taken proper care of, would grow enamored with their owner. As the bond grew between person and plant, the Singing Echronna would get used to their owner's schedule and start to sing when it was time for them to wake, becoming a very effective substitute for the alarm charm, for people who kept to a certain schedule most of the time.

Harry had known what Neville planned on giving Hermione for her birthday and figured that that is how they had gotten on the topic of alarm clocks. It was a very Neville present to give someone but it was also a very thoughtful gift.

As Hermione opened her third birthday present of the day, her parents having sent theirs with the return owl from her last letter, she couldn't believe that she had made friends that actually cared enough to get her presents, even if she figured that either one of the Flamels had had to tell them about it since she hadn't said anything herself. As the wrapping came off, shortly followed by the lid of the box, Hermione nearly dropped the present entirely when she saw what was inside. "H… Harry, is this really…" She whispered but lost her voice completely as she gazed in surprise and wonder at a very old but well taken care of _1_ _st_ _Edition Hogwarts: A History_.

"It sure is." Harry crowed, happy she seemed to like the gift. "Nick and Nell have the entire series up to the most recent 39th Edition and they even have double copies of some, which that one is. While we were talking about possible birthday presents, we of course came around to books, and when I told them how much you seemed to love the current edition of the book, Nick went home and retrieved that one for you."

"But Harry, are they sure they want to give away such a priceless book?" Hermione asked but held the book to her chest as if she wouldn't part with it even if Dumbledore himself came up and demanded she give it back.

"According to Nick, books are meant to be read and enjoyed, not be hidden away on a bookshelf. He also said that you are more than welcome to borrow the other editions if you would like, one at a time of course, and he thinks you will find it interesting to see what each edition cuts out from the one before it and what new stuff gets added."

Despite her best efforts, Hermione started crying again and rushed at Harry, but since she still refused to take either hand off of the book, it was left to him to give her the hug she was obviously requesting. Deciding to go ahead and get it over with Harry added on. "They also have similar books for many of the other major schools from around the world, most notably Beauxbatons since, as Nick was a former Headmaster, he is sent a copy of the newest edition whenever it comes out. They are in different languages though and since the translation charm becomes less effective the more you use it, unless you know the language it would be difficult for you to read them."

Hermione stepped back at hearing this, with curiosity burning in her watery eyes. "Why does it become less effective?"

Harry tilted his head to the side as he tried to remember what the Flamels had told him about the charm. "When you use the charm, you are pretty much tricking your brain into believing that you can speak, hear, and read foreign languages when you actually can't. When your mind catches onto that fact, it subconsciously starts to fight the effects of the charm, therefore reducing its effectiveness over time.

"I used it the entire time we were in Egypt and by the end of the week I started noticing that sometimes, words that should have been translated actually weren't, though I could figure them out easily enough from what the rest of the sentence was. Nell said that as time goes by, more and more words will stop being translated until I will be missing whole sentences and finally, the charm stops working all together."

"That's so fascinating!" Hermione exclaimed, wiping tears off her cheeks. "And I can speak rudimentary French but can only read a bit."

"Well, they have plenty of books in French if you want to practice and I'm sure they would be willing to help you out with speaking it. Nell has been teaching me off and on since my birthday but it's kind of slow going with everything else going on." Harry said.

"Thanks Harry. We should probably get down to the Great Hall, I want to get started on the book." She said in excitement. "Ohh, I wish Neville and I had a free period right after breakfast."

When they finally made it to breakfast, Hermione immediately went up to the High Table to thank Nick and Nell for the present and verified that Harry had been telling the truth about borrowing the other books. Not that she didn't believe him but it really was an incredible thing to offer, to her at least, and she wanted to make sure that they were really ok with it.

It was a beaming birthday girl that made her way back to the Gryffindor table and her smile only grew wider as her fellow first years, who hadn't seen her yet, wished her Happy Birthday, Susan and Hannah even giving her a small present of Pepper Imps, Candyfloss, and Sugar Quills.

She was very grateful that Professor Flamel had pulled her aside after their second DADA class their first week there and spoken to her about her eagerness to answer every question the professor asked, nearly dislocating her shoulder in order to do so, and how it could discourage other students from answering, as well as make them resentful towards her for not allowing them the chance to answer themselves.

Since that talk, Hermione had been waiting 5-10 seconds when a question was asked before raising her hand and found her classmates hostility towards her dialed down considerably, though Ron Weasley still had the nerve to roll his eyes whenever she did answer a question. She had also been trying to work on the way she spoke to people, since Harry had not so subtly, in typical clueless boy fashion, told her during one of their morning runs that she sometimes came across as if she were speaking to an ignorant child and that it wasn't a particularly nice feeling being on the receiving end of that. After only a few days she noticed that people responded better to her and were more willing to ask her questions now that they believed she wouldn't come across as degrading and make them feel stupid.

As much as it hurt to hear these things at the time, Hermione was immensely glad that they had been brought to her attention. She still thought that her roommates sat around and gossiped way too much and some of the boys in their dorm were just plain lazy but at least most of them weren't trying to avoid her or be mean to her. All in all, Hermione was enjoying her time at Hogwarts so much better than she had at any of her previous schools and couldn't help but think that the reason was because she now had actual friends.

* * *

 **A/N:** I know this chapter was a bit random with events but it was just some stuff that I wanted to touch on and then it kind of took on a life of its own. I so wanted to put Harry on the Hufflepuff team but as I was writing the Quidditch scene, which I wasn't completely happy with, I realized that a lot of things have been going Harry's way so far and decided to spice it up a bit. I also am not very good at writing Quidditch but it will still pop up every now and then. I have some action planned for the next chapter and things should start picking up a bit more so I hope you guys can bear with me as the story continues to unfold.


	10. Feast with a Side of Troll

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Nell begins to teach Harry what he needs to know in order to battle Voldemort when the time comes and finds out just how good Cedric is at Quidditch when the older boy beats him at the Hufflepuff Quidditch tryouts. Lucius Malfoy is put in his place by Nick when he attempts to have Draco's punishment overthrown by the Board of Governors and is in danger of losing his position on the board once all is said and done.

* * *

As the Halloween feast approached, Harry could be found walking aimlessly outside during his early morning free period. The past month and a half had been great. His training was going well as he had managed to learn the disarming, severing, stunning, and banishing charms along with the jelly-legs and tripping jinxes. They were all fairly easy to learn and although some of them had rather long incantations, Nell had admitted that she did that on purpose, as she wanted them to get used to saying the long incantations quickly without compromising the casting of the spell itself.

Neville and Hermione were also getting better, Neville especially since he decided to start running with Harry and Hermione in the mornings, as he hadn't really felt the need until he realized a few weeks in that Hermione was getting much better than him at dodging and he didn't want to be left behind. All three were excited for Christmas, not just for the obvious reasons, but also because Nell had mentioned that if they kept up the excellent progress that, after the holidays, she would start them on one on one dueling on Saturdays while the third person worked on their aiming.

His classes were going great too, although History of Magic was a big disappointment for him and he could barely keep himself from falling asleep while in class. How anyone could make wars and rebellions sound supremely boring was beyond him, but Professor Binns had managed it. DADA was still his all time favorite but Potions and Transfiguration were close behind it as Harry simply enjoyed Nick's classes and he was getting progressively better at Transfiguration, even managing to perfect transfiguring his spool of thread into a thimble before Hermione, which bothered her to no end as the two of them seemed to have developed some sort of competition regarding who could master a spell the fastest, though Harry couldn't remember ever officially declaring such.

He found Quidditch to be much more fun with a whole group of people rather than just one or two and enjoyed the practices held three nights a week, though they hadn't gotten to play a game yet. The best part of their practices though, had to be the one time a week when Dominic would ask for help from some of the upper years in constructing a monstrous obstacle course, similar to the one from tryouts but nearly as big as the pitch, and have a competition to see who could get through it the fastest with the least amount of hits. Whoever won would get a prize, usually candy, but it was so fun that nobody ever griped about losing and people from other teams would even find themselves wandering onto the pitch to give it a shot. Harry couldn't wait to watch an actual game being played and was glad that the first game, Slytherin vs Gryffindor, would finally be happening the week after Halloween.

Speaking of, that brought him around to his current dilemma. Harry wasn't entirely sure how to feel about Halloween. Not because of any religious reasons or anything like that but because, before being taken in by Nick and Nell, he had never known what day his parents had died and so never had a problem with Halloween per se, other than the fact that he never got to actually celebrate it. It used to be that he would be locked in his cupboard while Uncle Vernon handed out candy and Aunt Petunia took Dudley around the neighborhood and then he had to watch as the large boy made himself sick trying to eat every piece of candy he had gotten in one go.

Therefore, he was thrown off guard when Nell had asked him during their Sunday dinner if he was going to be all right celebrating Halloween at the feast that would take place on October 31st. It wasn't until that moment that he had thought about the fact that his parent's had actually been murdered on that night and he felt terrible that it didn't seem to upset him as much as he thought it should. The feast was supposed to be the best of the year, according to the upper years, and after all the hype and anticipation, Harry found himself really wanting to go to it.

Both Flamels had set him down after they ate and talked to him about it once they realized what was going through his mind. After much discussion, they finally convinced him that he wasn't a terrible son for wanting to hang out with his friends and have fun on Halloween but they suggested that if he still felt bad that he could spend some of the day just thinking about his parents. Nick and Nell had told him plenty of their stories and shared what pictures they had of them, so he was immensely grateful that he had something to go off of while thinking about the people they had been.

He was only about 20 minutes into his rumination and thinking about where he should go when a friendly voice boomed across Hogwarts' lawn. " Hello there Harry! Wha' are yeh doin' out here so early?"

Harry smiled as he made his way over towards Hagrid's hut. He and the others had met Hagrid a few weeks back when they were exploring the grounds and had become fast friends with the giant man, though Daphne and Blaise took a little longer to open up. "Hello Hagrid. I'm just thinking about some things. What are you doing?"

"Oh, jus' gettin' these ready fer the feast tonight." He said and gestured to the gigantic pumpkins scattered around the pumpkin patch.

"Are you going to carve them all yourself?" Harry asked as he eyed the closest pumpkin. He had never gotten to help carve a pumpkin before but had always wanted to try it.

"Naw, I jus' grow 'em. The professors take care o' the carvin'."

"Do they ever let students help?"

Hagrid ran a hand down his beard as he thought about it. "Not tha' I know of but yeh can always ask 'em if yeh wan' ter. Try Professor Flitwick, he usually 'eads the decoratin' commitee."

Harry's shoulders slumped slightly in disappointment and he decided to ask Professor Flitwick next chance he got. Maybe they could even hold some kind of pumpkin carving contest for the houses if enough students showed an interest.

"Yeh wan' ter come in fer a cup o' tea?" Hagrid asked.

Harry nodded and followed him into the warm hut. They spent the majority of Harry's remaining free period talking about his parents and the group his dad used to run with and Harry found himself wanting to say something whenever Hagrid practically growled out Sirius Black's name like a curse any time he mentioned him, but held his tongue. According to Nick, the Head of the DMLE was still working to get his innocent godfather a trial to prove to everybody that he had not betrayed his parents and to possibly find out who did.

Though Amelia Bones hadn't said it outright, Nick guessed that it was only taking so long because Minister Fudge was probably trying to stall as long as he could, since a story like this would have the wizarding populace of Britain up in arms over an innocent man going to prison, without a trial no less. The Minister couldn't stall forever though, and Amelia was confident that Sirius would have his trial sometime in November, or so her last response to Nick's continuous inquiries said.

About a minute before classes were out, Harry trudged up the stairs to the Charms classroom to see about speaking to Professor Flitwick before his Potions class. The bell rang as he was about halfway down the hall and the Gryffindors and Slytherins came filing out of the classroom in a hurry and just as he spotted Neville and Hermione walking towards him, Ron Weasley's voice could be heard all along the corridor.

"She's a nightmare, honestly!" He said to Dean and Seamus and Harry saw the moment Hermione realized the red head was talking about her because her eyes teared up, but Ron wasn't done. "It's no wonder she hasn't got any friends."

Whether Ron hadn't realized that Harry and Neville, as well as plenty of others, were her friends or he just chose to ignore that fact, mattered not a jot to Harry. As Hermione tried to run past him, with her head down so nobody could see her crying, Harry grabbed her arm gently and passed her to Neville, who had already been on his way to chase after her, before he walked angrily up to Ron.

"I don't know what your problem is Ron but nothing gives you the right to speak about anyone like that." He fumed and Ron started trying to splutter out a reply but Harry rode over him. "Hermione is a great person and she has plenty of friends that enjoy hanging out with her. Just because you can't see that, doesn't mean its not true, and the next time you choose to speak to her, it had better be to apologize."

When he was done, Harry spun on his heels and walked off without waiting to hear what Ron had to say for himself. As he got to Hermione, who was being comforted by Lavender and Parvati along with Neville, his anger bled away and he gave her a smile when she looked up at him with tears still leaking down her face. "You ok Hermione?"

"I… I was just try… trying to help him with his s… spell." She said between hiccups.

Harry winced internally. Hermione had gotten so much better at helping people but to someone like Ron, it would have only seemed like she was trying to be a know-it-all and show him up. "Well, it's certainly his loss if he chose not to listen now isn't it? I bet you managed the spell on the first try while he spent the whole class grumbling and waving his wand to no avail." He said, handing her his handkerchief.

That brought a small smile to the girl's face and she wiped her tears as she nodded her head.

"You see, he's just jealous at how great you are so don't listen to anything he says ok?"

"Harrys right Hermione. You're better than any of us here and shouldn't let people like Ron make you think otherwise." Neville chimed in but blushed brilliantly when Hermione looked at him in gratitude.

It was too late now to talk to Professor Flitwick before his Potions class so Harry decided to try and corner the diminutive professor later. As he began guiding them down the hall, they all heard Ron yell out from behind them but Parvati and Lavender sent twin glares his way as he advanced on them and Dean, the most perceptive of the three, grabbed his red headed friend by the back of his robes to stop him going any further when he noticed the looks they were receiving. Ron struggled for a moment before finally taking in the looks the two girls were giving him and wisely decided to retreat for now, but not before giving their group a dirty look.

By the time they split ways, Hermione was well on her way to feeling loads better. And to think, she had planned on hiding away in a bathroom for the rest of the day so she wouldn't have to speak to anyone.

The feast that night was everything Harry imagined, and more. The pumpkins Hagrid had worked so hard on were displayed above the tables, floating in midair, and the live bats flying around them just added to the wondrous sight that was the Great Hall.

The students had hardly gotten situated before the tables were groaning with all of the different foods that appeared out of thin air and Harry didn't mind one bit when his regular menu didn't appear on his plate because he immediately started piling all different kinds of food onto it instead.

Chatter was at maximum volume when silence, then laughter could be heard coming from across the hall at the Gryffindor table and all eyes turned to the table of red and gold. Before Harry could get a good look at what was happening, the same thing happened behind him at the Slytherin table and he spun around, hoping to get a better view, but was not prepared for what he saw. One of the fifth years was sitting in the middle of the table and his whole head was encased in a pumpkin, much to the amusement of those around him. No sooner had he taken this in than other students all around the hall found themselves with pumpkin heads.

The Pompion Potion was a potion that Nick had had them brew the previous week, to get into the spirit of Halloween. Though he hadn't let them take the potions out of the classroom, probably to try and avoid this very thing happening, he had made sure to set aside some time towards the end of class so they could each try it out if they wanted. It had been a strange feeling, to have your entire head encased inside a pumpkin but still be able to see, hear, and breath perfectly and Harry didn't know whether to be grateful or disappointed that the effects only lasted for about 30 seconds. It seemed like someone had smuggled some potion out of the classroom or someone else had heard about it, the Weasley twins, and decided to play a prank on the whole school by brewing their own since it wasn't very difficult.

Soon after everyone settled down from the excellent prank, the food disappeared from the table, only to be replaced with massive amounts of all kinds of different sweets. As great as the various desserts were though, the main attractions were the much smaller pumpkins than the ones floating above them that sat at random intervals down the tables and, to the delight of the students, the faces would occasionally morph into a sick expression, looking like it was going to throw up, before its mouth would open wide and candy came pouring out of it.

After everyone had stuffed themselves silly, the feast was finally beginning to wind down as everybody sat back with full bellies and content smiles on their faces. There was still a slight buzz about the hall as people continued to chat with one another and laughs could be heard every so often as student's heads would randomly be encased in pumpkins but the volume wasn't nearly what it had been an hour ago.

The first sign of something amiss was the silence that slowly descended, starting with those students sitting closest to the closed doors of the Great Hall and continued down the line in a wave until everybody could smell the foul stench of rotting dirty socks and moldy bathrooms. Harry covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve and looked around him to see if anybody had determined what was causing the smell but all of the students he could see looked just as confused and disgusted as he did.

"It's coming from outside." He heard someone shout and turned his gaze to the front of the hall where he saw Evan Snyder, a seventh year Hufflepuff get up and approach the doors. Just as he put his hand on the knob to pull it open, there was a loud shuffling from the staff table and Hagrid's voice boomed and reverberated off the walls, stopping the boy in his tracks. "Don' open it, get away from there, all of yeh!"

All eyes turned to gaze in confusion at the usually gentle giant as he yelled at them but before he could explain his outburst there was a magnificent crash from behind the doors and they shook violently, causing everyone to jump and some to cry out in alarm and Evan started backing away with a look of awe and fear at the huge crack that now adorned the magnificent oak doors. Harry pulled Susan and Hannah up from the table and gestured for Justin to follow them up towards the High Table just as Hagrid was making his way to the side of it, they weren't the only ones to make the move, as Neville and Hermione joined his group in short order, along with Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise, but there were still quite a few people just sitting and staring, mesmerized.

"Professors, we have ter get the students out o' here, I think there's a tr…" Hagrid never got to finish his sentence as another crash was heard, immediately followed by a second and the doors exploded inwards. There were shrieks and cries as students were pelted with bits of wood and then mayhem ensued as everyone got a glimpse of what was standing in the wreckage. Two monstrous twelve foot trolls were gazing around dumbly at the chaos as if they were just as surprised to see all the students there as the students were at seeing them. It didn't take them long to get over this however and as students were trying their best to get to the professors, one of them gave a roar as he brought his club down on the end of the Ravenclaw table, smashing it to smithereens.

Thankfully, there were no students within striking distance at this point, as everybody was in the process of packing themselves as tightly as they could around the High Table with some of the 6th and 7th years pulling their wands and placing themselves between the younger students and the trolls. This proved to be a terrible thing to do however, as it was causing difficulties for the professors to get through the crowd of scared students to confront the beasts. The only one that was making any headway was Hagrid, who, though being as gentle as possible, was still bowling people over left and right trying to get to the front. Headmaster Dumbledore could be heard giving instructions to some of the professors to start leading the children out of the side door while the rest of the staff took care of the beasts. As Harry had instinctually made his way towards Nick and Nell when guiding his friends to safety they would now be some of the last to leave since both professors sat at the opposite end of the table from the door.

There were more screams as the troll that had not destroyed the Ravenclaw table directed his gaze to the scared children and proceeded to make his way rather quickly towards them. Hagrid gave a great bellow as he finally broke through the masses and everybody watched in horror as he sprinted straight for the beast. Harry knew it was preposterous, but he could have sworn that someone must have cast some sort of time delay spell on the inhabitants of the hall because both Hagrid and the troll seemed to be moving in slow motion as they made their way towards each other and all any of the rest of them could do was stand there and watch.

As the troll lifted its club above its head Hagrid put on a burst of speed and before it could bring the club down he lowered his right shoulder and barreled straight into its gut. The troll didn't stand a chance, Hagrid may have been half a foot shorter than these beasts but he had gained enough momentum to not only stop the monster in its tracks but also lift it off its feet and propel it backwards where it landed on the Hufflepuff table with enough force to completely obliterate it and cause the very walls and floor to shake. Hagrid wasn't far behind and he landed hard just to the right of it and as the troll's club went flying, he rolled away and got heavily to his feet.

Harry couldn't lie, he was transfixed at the scene before him. Not only had his giant friend charged an enraged troll to protect them but had actually managed to bring it down with a tackle worthy of any rugby player. What he noticed next though froze his insides and he wasn't the only one. The first troll had its club above its head and had advanced on Hagrid from behind as he was getting his bearings and it didn't look like he had realized it.

"Hagrid, look out!" Harry yelled but he was drowned out by the numerous screams from the others that were still in the Great Hall. He heard Hermione whimper and felt it as she grabbed his arm in a death grip, but they could only watch in horror as the troll's club made its descent.

The expected bludgeoning never came though. The troll stared at its now empty hand in total confusion as all eyes turned to Professor McGonagall who had a look of fury on her face and her wand trained on the troll, having just vanished its murderous club. Before the troll could comprehend what had happened, McGonagall was on the move and Hagrid could only step out of her way before he got caught up in her retribution on the beasts that would dare try to harm her students. A wave like wand movement resulted in a loud blast like a cannon coming from her wand and her being enveloped in a cloud of smoke. When it cleared they could clearly see a flock of at least 15-20 canary like birds flying around her. Another swift gesture and the tip of her wand was encased in an icy blue light and, as the birds flew before it, they swelled to the size of Bludgers.

The noise of her first spell had attracted the troll's attention and he began making his way towards her as she was enlarging the large flock. McGonagall was not one for backing down though. She stood her ground and as soon as the last bird had made its pass through her enlarging spell, she took a step forward and jabbed her wand towards the advancing beast shouting, "Oppugno!" The birds promptly launched themselves at the troll and began pecking at its face mercilessly.

Professor Flitwick, not to be out done, ran up as the beast was preoccupied and with a wave of his wand a jet of water was shot at the floor where the troll was standing, quickly followed by a yell of, "Glacius!" causing the water to instantly freeze and the troll to slip and fall to the ground with a huge crash while still being attacked by the flock of vicious canaries.

Nick and Nell stepped forward as Professor McGonagall vanished the birds and, along with her and Flitwick, they all four shot a stunning spell at the trolls face before it could get up. While it did stop moving they all shot it with a second stunning spell to ensure that it stayed down before turning to the remaining troll.

The other professors had not been idle though, for as McGonagall began her attack Dumbledore had broken through the group of students and made his way to the first downed beast. He waved his wand in a wide arc and chains instantly sprang from the floor and began wrapping themselves around the troll's arms and legs. As Dumbledore, along with Professors Sprout, Sinistra, and Vector were getting ready to stun it however, the troll's left arm broke free of the chains and he reached for Professor Sprout, who was the closest. The collective cry that came from the students was unnecessary though, because Professor Sprout merely made a sweeping motion with her wand and a white light shot out, banishing the trolls hand away from her, where it was promptly immobilized by Hagrid jumping on top of it.

As soon as the second troll was stunned, Dumbledore was turning around to check on the students, when Nell yelled out. "Someone is attempting to break through the wards on our quarters!"

In the pandemonium, none of the students heard her statement and after looking towards Harry to make sure he was all right, both Flamels rushed out of the Hall and up the Grand Staircase.

Dumbledore tasked McGonagall with looking after the students before asking Flitwick to join him and they both hurried after the couple.

As McGonagall started barking orders at professors and students alike, Hermione let out a cry of relief and then proceeded to hug all of their friends that were in the immediate vicinity before running over to Hagrid, who had been directed to check on their side of the hall, and giving him a hug as well. She wasn't the only one to share the sentiment as many of the younger Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs followed her lead to thank him for protecting them, making him blush bright red.

"Blimey! How did trolls get into the castle?" Blaise asked nobody in particular as he flexed his fingers to try and get feeling back into them.

Daphne, who, along with Tracey, had nearly crushed the hands of their male childhood friend during the fight and were now acting as if they had never even been frightened, answered. "I don't know, but they look like mountain trolls and they shouldn't have been anywhere near the castle. I wonder where the rest of their clan is."

This made everyone who heard it nervous as they thought about even more trolls showing up to wreak havoc in the Great Hall.

"Yeh all ok?" Hagrid asked as he finally made it over and everybody nodded. "Do any of yeh need a Calmin' Draught?"

Their housemate Megan and Sue Li from Ravenclaw stepped forward with tears streaming down their faces and shaking from head to toe. Hagrid gave them a comforting smile and pointed them in the direction of Madam Pomfrey and Trainee Healer Bennett, who were surrounded by various students with small cuts they had gotten from when the doors had exploded and some that looked pale and shaken, like Megan and Sue Li.

"You were brilliant Hagrid!" Harry burst out excitedly. "I can't believe you took down a troll with your bare hands."

Hagrid looked down at the floor and shuffled his feet a bit in embarrassment. "It weren't nothin'. Wasn't gonna let them hurt any of yeh now was I?"

"Still, you did great. Thanks for protecting us like that."

"Yer welcome Harry. Since yeh all seem all righ' I better go see about helpin' get them trolls out o' here." He said and turned around to go back and speak with McGonagall.

At this point, Hedwig flew into the Great Hall and went straight for her familiar, concern flashing through Harry's mind like a speeding train. She pulled up to hover in front of him instead of alighting on his shoulder and Harry held up his arm for her and pulled her close to him once she landed gently on it. "It's ok Hedwig, everyone is all right." He soothed as he stroked her feathers.

Images of her hunting showed up in his mind to explain why it had taken her so long to get to him and she let out a screech of anger before nipping at his fingers gently in worry and affection.

"Don't worry Hed, you wouldn't have been able to do much and with Hagrid and the professors, we weren't in danger for long." Harry said softly and sent waves of reassurance back down their link to calm her.

Once she was sufficiently soothed, Harry looked around the Hall and asked the group. "Have any of you seen where Nick and Nell went?"

Nick and Nell were currently rounding the corner in the 4th floor corridor that led to their quarters and saw a man, wearing a garish purple turban, standing before their door waving his wand and muttering incantations, trying to break down their wards. Without pausing, they surged forward and both began casting spells at the man without saying a word, causing him to turn in surprise and quickly throw up a shield to defend himself. Neither Flamel stopped their casting for a second, falling easily into a well developed dueling chain guaranteed to keep their opponent on his toes and forcing the stranger to stay on the offensive as he threw up shield after shield and weaved this way and that to try and dodge and protect himself against the onslaught of spells being cast by the much more experienced duo.

What caused a turn of the tide was not any sort of flaw in the Flamel's dueling or Dumbledore turning the corner behind them with Flitwick close on his heels and both gasping in surprise and throwing out a questioning "Quirinus?" No, it was when one of Nick's severing charms managed to hit the turban the intruder was wearing, causing it to fall to pieces and giving the small group a very good look at the face that was growing out the back of the man's head.

Their opponent took advantage of their surprise and cast his one and only defensive spell since the dual began. "Fiendfyre!" He bellowed and flames erupted from the tip of his wand with a roar, hurtling straight for them.

The flames began to grow almost instantly, set to consume and destroy everything in its path, when Nell ran forward without hesitation, pointed her wand straight at the flames and yelled out an incantation that was swallowed up by the noise of the cursed fire as it enveloped her completely, coalescing into a giant ball around where she stood, rather than surging through the hallway.

The heat within the sphere of flames was almost unbearable and made it all the harder to breath as Nell battled with the cursed fire for dominance. Wisps of flames shaped like serpents lashed out at her every now and then, trying to break her concentration and managing to singe her slightly before being grabbed by sharp canine teeth and pulled away from her to meld back into the sphere. After what felt like hours, a rush of heat passed through her and a howl of triumph only she could hear pierced the air as the flames took the form of that which she associated with safety and love.

The three remaining could only stand and watch in worry as Nell fought to control the fire, unable to see or get around the flames to find out what had happened to the intruder, and it was several long moments before the flames transformed into a large pack of wolves that proceeded to sprint down the hallway away from them, before diminishing somewhat then disappearing completely. Nell was standing in the same spot she had been, breathing heavily, covered in soot with her clothes and hair singed in random places, but otherwise fine, and it seemed as if their intruder had fled after casting his curse.

As Dumbledore and Flitwick ran down the hall to see if they may be able to catch up with their former colleague before he could make it out of the castle, Nick enveloped his wife in a hug and proceeded to run scans to make sure she was all right.

"I'm fine Nick, the flames hardly touched me." Nell said softly to her worried husband and rolled her eyes when he ignored her and continued with his scans.

Once his scans came back positive, Nick pulled her into another hug and administered a kiss for good measure. "You did wonderfully ma chérie."

"Thank you dear. I can't believe that imbecile had the gall to cast that curse inside a school." She said with a huff as she turned to check on their quarters. "It doesn't look like he got very far in breaking down the wards."

"Well, he probably wasn't planning on us dispatching the trolls so quickly." Nick responded and began cleaning the soot off of his wife. "It seems like our little ruse didn't work though."

"Looks that way. Do you think we should try to throw him off again?" Nell asked and swatted his hand away lightly when he attempted to mend her singed hair as they both knew perfectly well he was terrible at cosmetic charms and would probably end up vanishing the hair all together. Once she was assured that her hair was safe from her husband, she conjured a mirror and began fixing it herself.

"Honestly, I don't believe it will do any good. That man is literally possessed and most likely not thinking straight at all. Unless we quit our jobs here and left the castle completely he would probably not believe any attempts to divert him."

Nell ran a hand down her face once she vanished her conjured mirror. "As much as I enjoy teaching again, I wish we hadn't brought the stone here. We have put the children at risk as it's quite clear who sent those trolls into the Great Hall."

"I know my dear, but we had little choice this time around. Neither of us could leave Harry, especially with my promise to Lily, so fleeing to go into hiding until our pursuer was dead and gone was out of the question." Nick spoke softly and put an arm around her shoulders to begin leading her back down the hall so they could check on Harry and the other students.

Nell sighed and leaned into her husband. "You should have just let me cast the Fidelius and make me the secret keeper a long time ago."

Nick groaned at hearing this. "Perenelle, we have been over this. All it would have taken was for someone to capture me and we both know you would have told whoever it was the secret without a second thought and the same would go for me if the roles were reversed. That's why we chose Albus to be the secret keeper this time remember? He is too powerful for anyone to try and go after him directly and he doesn't have the same emotional attachment to divulge the secret were we to be threatened."

"I know, I'm sorry." Nell acknowledged before changing the subject somewhat. "Do you think that if the thief learns that the stone is under a Fidelius now, he will quit attempting to steal it?"

"Thats a thought." Nick replied and ran a hand through his hair as he pondered the question. "I don't see why it wouldn't work since there would be no reason to try and steal a stone he couldn't see even if he were staring straight at it."

"We would most likely have to wait until he attacks again to even get a chance of possibly letting that bit of information slip."

"Well, it's only a matter of time before that man's body gives out from the possession. He is most likely already feeling the effects and there aren't many things that would be able to sustain the body for long once it begins to break down from the strain of housing two dominant souls within it. So, he will have to attack sooner rather than later."

Nell was unable to respond to that as they stepped into the Entrance Hall and saw Hagrid pulling one of the stunned trolls across the hall and out the door via a rope tied around the beast's chest, followed closely by Professors Vector, Sinistra, and Sprout levitating the second troll.

"Need any help?" Nick called after them.

Professor Sprout turned a bit to respond. "No thank you Nick, I think we can hold it until we get them far enough away from the castle."

Both Flamels nodded and walked into the Great Hall, which looked slightly less chaotic than when they had left it. All of the students had made their way back into the hall when they realized that the danger had passed and were scattered everywhere, hindering any attempts to repair the tables, and chattering amongst themselves in excitement and apprehension.

"Nick, Nell!" Harry yelled, forgetting at the moment that he was supposed to address them by their titles when in front of others, and ran up to them, careful not to dislodge Hedwig, who had refused to leave him, to engulf them both in a hug. "Where did you go?" He asked and stepped back with his nose wrinkled. "And why do you smell like smoke?"

Looking around and noticing quite a few students attempting to listen into their conversation, Nell replied. "Now is not the best time to discuss it but we will tell you later."

Harry nodded in understanding, knowing that they didn't want the other students to know what was going on but wouldn't mind telling him some of it as long as he promised to keep it a secret, and he puffed out his chest a bit at them trusting him.

"Are you all right?" Nell asked him, running a hand through his hair while looking him over for any possible injuries.

"Yeah, trolls never even got near us thanks to Hagrid."

"Yes, he did do quite well didn't he." Nick said as he looked over the rest of Harry's little group of friends, who had made their way over too, for any injuries. He needn't have worried though because he had noticed before all the chaos that they had all followed Harry when he had gotten up to get to the staff table, even Neville and Hermione who had been across the hall from him, flocked to him without hesitation.

He and Perenelle had had many conversations with Harry throughout the summer about his childhood and both had noticed that not once had he ever mentioned having any friends. It had broken their hearts when they asked him about it and he told them sadly that Dudley had always beaten up anyone who looked like they might want to try and be Harry's friend and that it had been years since any of the other kids had even really spoken to him at school. They were glad that this didn't seem to affect him as much as it could have and that he was now on his way to making great friends.

Before anymore could be said, Dumbledore and Flitwick stepped back into the Hall and the students fell silent as Dumbledore clapped his hands to get their attention.

"The castle is secure so I would like the Prefects to lead their houses back to their dormitories please. Those that have need of Madam Pomfrey's expertise may of course stay until she releases you. I have had some chocolate and other assorted candies sent to each house's common room in case anybody needs it but please be sure to go to sleep at normal hours since classes will start at their normal times tomorrow. Thank you." He said and the various Prefects began gathering their housemates.

"We will see you in the morning sweetheart." Nell said, pulling Harry into a hug and kissing the top of his head as Adrian came over to fetch him, Susan, and Hannah, Percy Weasley dragged Neville and Hermione away to join the Gryffindors, and Darien Pickett came to collect his snakes.

Nick gave him a hug as well. "Don't stay up too late."

"I won't, goodnight." Harry responded, walking off with Adrian and was met by Cedric when he got to the other 'Puffs, who started asking him if he was all right.

As the last student left the Great Hall, the remaining professors gathered in the middle to go about repairing the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables as well as the doors. Once done, Nick and Nell pulled Dumbledore aside to speak with him.

"The intruder got away Albus." Nell stated, rather than asked.

Dumbledore nodded his head gravely. "He did. It seems that he blew out one of the windows on the 3rd floor and jumped out. He was much too far away for Filius and I to pursue him out onto the grounds once we realized."

"Have you contacted the DMLE yet?" Nick asked.

Dumbledore looked confused at this question. "I don't see a need to involve the Ministry in Hogwarts business. Nobody was harmed and nothing was stolen."

"That is not the point Albus. There is currently a man being possessed out there that has his sights set on Hogwarts, and by extension her students, and the DMLE needs to be alerted to the fact that he his running around. At the very least, they can help try and track him down." Nick countered.

"Besides," Nell added. "How do you think the parents are going to react when they find out trolls and an intruder were able to enter Hogwarts and you chose not to do anything about it. I don't foresee Director Bones being particularly happy that her niece's life was in danger and you saw fit not to inform her right away."

"You make good points." Dumbledore replied while stroking his beard. "I shall contact Director Bones immediately and while we wait for her I will upgrade the wards around the castle to repel class XXX creatures and up unless express permission is given by me to bring them in."

"Before you go Albus, you and Filius acted as if you knew the intruder. Who was it?" Nell enquired.

"It was Quirinus Quirrel. He was the professor for Muggle Studies up until last year when he decided to take a sabbatical to gain first-hand experience out in the world. I had believed that he would simply immerse himself in a small muggle village somewhere to gain a better understanding of them or perhaps study Defense Against the Dark Arts with other known masters as he always did have a gift for the theory of it, but it seems I was very wrong."

"Did he not wish for his position back? I would think that being within the castle would make it easier for him to try and get what he wanted."

"When I didn't hear from him before school let out, I sent him a letter shortly after summer started to ask him if he would be taking up his former position but he was adamant that he not teach Muggle Studies again and showed an interest in the DADA position instead. Of course, Nicolas had already visited me and secured that position himself so I could not offer it. I did not hear from him again until halfway through August, at which point I had already offered Charity a permanent position for Muggle Studies and had no other openings. I was willing to try and work something out with him but he did not respond to my owl after that."

When it didn't look like the Flamels had anymore questions for him, Dumbledore excused himself and headed to his office to contact Amelia Bones via floo. She was outraged that someone had managed to let trolls into the castle to attempt to harm the students and immediately gathered a group of Aurors to head there.

"Amelia, thank you for coming so quickly." Dumbledore greeted as they reached Hogwarts' main doors.

"Albus." She acknowledged with a nod before jumping right in. "I understand that you have already sent the students back to their dormitories?"

"I did. Most of them were understandably distressed with the attack and so I thought it best to let them go where they would feel more comfortable rather than keep them where the attack took place. Also, as far as I saw before they left, young Miss Bones was doing just fine and drawing comfort from her small group of friends."

"Very good and thank you for that. Now, though it is unlikely they will be able to give me anything that the professors don't, I would like to get statements from a few of the older students tomorrow."

"Of course, I will arrange it. Please, if you would follow me, all of the staff that had been present during the attack are still in the Great Hall waiting to give you their statements." Dumbledore said and led them across the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall, where most of the staff were congregated at the repaired Hufflepuff table drinking tea and conversing with one another quietly. Snape and Filch were standing off to the side with sour expressions on their faces, neither speaking to the other and McGonagall was waiting patiently just inside the newly repaired doorway for the group of Aurors.

"All right everybody," Amelia spoke up, garnering the attention of all those present. "I know its been an exciting night for each of you but we need to get your statements of what happened tonight regarding the troll incident. Once we have taken your statement, you will be free to leave and go about your business so if everybody cooperates, this shouldn't take too long."

Before she could start breaking them up between her Aurors, McGonagall stepped forward. "May I suggest that the Heads of House go first so that we might check on our students?"

"That is a good idea." Amelia agreed. "If the Heads of House could step forward please." Flitwick, Vector, and Sprout came to stand next to McGonagall and were soon split up amongst the four Aurors to get their statements with Bones taking one of the others.

All told, getting through all of the staff only took a short time considering all of their statements were basically the same except for the Flamels, Dumbledore, and Flitwick. They made sure to get memories from a few so they would have references and different viewpoints of the attack and afterwards, when Amelia learned of the duel between the Flamels and Quirrel, she asked to be taken to the scene where it had taken place.

When they stepped into the hallway on the fourth floor, Amelia tapped her wand to the monocle she wore on her right eye, activating the enchantments that allowed her to see magical residue left behind by recently cast spells. The various reds, greens, and blues were to be expected but when a streak of black mixed with crimson nearly overshadowed all the others and spread over almost the entirety of the hall, her eyebrows rose.

"Who cast the dark curse?" She demanded.

"That would be Quirrel. We were taken a bit by surprise when we saw that he was being possessed and he took advantage of it by casting the Fiendfyre curse." When he saw her eyes widen in surprise, Dumbledore reassured her. "Perenelle acted quickly and was able to take control of the fire and dispel it before it could do any damage."

"Do we know who he is being possessed by and what he was after?"

"I do believe I know who it was and certainly know what he was after but I believe it would be best if we spoke more on this in my office with Nicolas and Perenelle present."

Giving a sigh, Amelia nodded and turned to her Aurors. "Document what you can from what you see then I want you to head outside and make a sweep of the grounds to make sure the intruder didn't decide to double back and hide. If I'm not done by the time you get done, wait in the Entrance Hall for me. Dismissed."

"Yes ma'am!" They chorused and separated along the hallway.

"Follow me." Dumbledore said once she turned to him again and began leading her to his office, being joined by Nick and Nell who had been standing back further down the corridor from them.

Informing Amelia that Voldemort was currently possessing Quirrell did not go over very well, nor did telling her that the reason he sent the trolls in as a diversion was so he could attempt to steal the Philospher's Stone, which was currently hidden in the castle. She was understandably upset that the students had been put in danger because of this though did recognize the fact that they had attempted to misdirect Voldemort's attention elsewhere, even if the attempt had failed. The Flamels reasoning that moving the stone now would likely make no difference to Quirrell also made sense and she asked Dumbledore's permission to station Aurors at the entrance to the school in case he tried to get inside the castle again, which he happily granted.

Once everything was settled, Dumbledore decided to get an impromptu update on how everything was going regarding the Horcrux hunt.

"It's going pretty slow at the moment since we are still gathering information on Voldemort's past. Knowing that he was previously known as Tom Riddle did help immensely but his whereabouts for the ten or so years he left Britain is still a mystery other than the fact that he may have been in Greece at one point. I assigned one of my best and most trusted Aurors, Kingsley Shaklebolt, to work with the Head of the Unspeakables on the matter.

"I did, however, reopen the case regarding the death of Hepzibah Smith when it came to light that Riddle made frequent visits to her home while he was employed at Borgin and Burkes and just so happened to resign his position immediately following her death. I intend to speak with her house-elf about the statement she gave stating that she mistook poison for sugar when making Smith's cocoa."

Dumbledore perked up at hearing this. "I remember Hepzibah Smith. She was a collector of magical antiques was she not?"

Amelia nodded. "She had quiet the collection when she passed away."

"Be sure to make a thorough search of what she had left and what might have been missing from her collection. If I know Tom, only the best would do when it came to creating his Horcruxes and I wouldn't put it past him to have murdered her if she had something he wanted and refused to part with it willingly."

"I had already planned on it." Amelia agreed and rose from her chair. "If there is nothing else, I think it is time we made our way back to the Ministry. I will leave two of the Aurors here until they can be relieved by two from the night shift and bring you the schedule tomorrow morning of who will be stationed at the castle and when." She very much wanted to check on her niece to see with her own eyes that she was fine but it was too late for that so she would have to wait until the morning to see her.

"That sounds excellent. Thank you again for coming Amelia." Dumbledore said and stood along with Nick and Nell, who had stayed silent during the Horcrux discussion, not having anything to say in regards to it.

As he got ready for bed late that night, Dumbledore felt slightly optimistic regarding the Horcrux hunt. The lead on Hepzibah Smith sounded promising and if all went well then they would know of at least one Horcrux Tom had made and hopefully, that one would help them determine what else he may have used. He was immensely glad that Nick and Nell had persuaded him to bring Amelia into the fold as she had quite a bit more resources than he did when it came to tracking down such information and he reckoned it would have taken him much longer to find such a lead. Things were looking up indeed.

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 **A/N:** It's that time of year! Due to vacation coming up I might not make the deadline for the next chapter post but will try my best to get it up as soon as possible for you. I hope everybody has an amazing Christmas!

 **A/N 2:** I had so much fun writing this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it too!


	11. Of Dogfathers and Familiars

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Quirrell makes his play for the stone by sending trolls into the Great Hall during the Halloween Feast as a diversion but is quickly thwarted by the Flamels and forced to flee. Amelia Bones informs the group that she will be reopening the case regarding Hepzibah Smith's death and Dumbledore hopes this might lead to clues as to Voldemort's Horcruxes.

 **A/N:** Sorry for the delay guys. I was on vacation but then had some computer problems after getting back and when I tried to post this last night, the sight wouldn't let me. Thank you for all of the great reviews and I hope you all had a great Christmas!

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As the second weekend of November rolled around and the icy tendrils of winter settled in, some welcome news was delivered to Nick via owl during breakfast that Saturday. It seemed that Madame Bones had finally come through on the trial for Sirius and it was to be held tomorrow afternoon at the Ministry in Courtroom 11 at 3:00 PM.

Now all the two Flamels needed to do was decide whether or not they should let Harry attend. Not that they didn't want him to be a part of Sirius' life but the trial would no doubt bring up unpleasant things regarding James and Lily's deaths and they didn't want Harry to have to suffer through that. On the other hand, it would give him the chance to meet his godfather for the first time he would be able to remember. Although, with spending 10 years in Azkaban, Sirius wouldn't quite be himself. They dithered back and forth between the pros and cons of letting Harry go for all of breakfast and finally came to a decision.

Harry was glad to hear that his godfather would finally be getting a trial when they told him right after their training session, he got extremely upset however when Nell let him know that she and Nick had decided not to let him attend. Telling him that they did not want to subject him to the dreadful topics that would no doubt crop up during the trial and that they wanted him to be able to meet Sirius for the first time when he was more himself did not pacify him one bit. Harry attempted to change their mind all through the rest of the day and into the next but by lunchtime on Sunday, he was resigned to the fact that they wouldn't budge on their decision.

The Flamels arrived in the already packed courtroom 20 minutes early, sat in the last two seats available in the front row of the gallery, and waited patiently for the trial to start. Amelia had attempted to keep the trial as quiet as possible but that just wasn't feasible with proceedings of this magnitude and the Prophet had spread the news that very morning. This caused the magical citizens of Britain to flock to the Ministry so they could watch and see what happened and even before 2:30 rolled around, nearly every seat in the gallery, which could seat over 100 people, was taken up.

Nick had originally wondered how the people would react to such an oversight in their justice system but was disappointed when he opened the Prophet at breakfast to read that Fudge had managed to place blame entirely on previous head officials including former Minister Millicent Bagnold, Barty Crouch Sr., and even Dumbledore to some extent. Fudge had no doubt paid the Prophet to write the article regarding the trial to make it seem like he had discovered the oversight and had done all he could to make sure that the mistake was rectified despite being the reason for the prolonged wait and, instead of baying in the streets of the injustice of it all, the citizens were praising his hard work.

The last to arrive, just as an unseen clock chimed 3:00, was Fudge, Dumbledore, and Amelia. They each took their designated seats and Dumbledore got the ball rolling, calling for the Auror guards to bring in the prisoner.

Despite knowing who was being put on trial, there were gasps all around the room quickly followed by whispers as the gaunt form of Sirius Black was escorted to the chair in the middle of the room. Nick and Nell both cringed and gazed sadly at the mere shell of the man that used to be so vibrant with life as he sat down in the chair, barely flinching when the chains were wrapped securely around him, though he did seem more alert than they first imagined he would be.

As soon as he was situated, Dumbledore started the proceedings. "Sirius Black, we are here today to right a great wrong committed against you on the 2nd of November 1981. It was recently brought to our attention that not only were you thrown into Azkaban without a trial but also that you may be innocent of some or all crimes you have been accused of. I will now turn the proceedings over to Madam Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Thank you Chief Warlock." Amelia said standing up. "Sirius Black, you have been accused of passing important information to the Dark Lord Voldemort, leading to the deaths of James and Lily Potter on October 31, 1981 as well as the mass murder of 12 muggles and one wizard two days later, on November 2, 1981. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty to all charges." Sirius said in a raspy voice, causing many of the people in the courtroom to start murmuring in disbelief.

"Noted." Amelia said simply and picked up one of the many pieces of parchment before her. "Mr. Black, on August 2nd of this year I was presented with a copy of the Last Will and Testament of James and Lily Potter. In their Will it states that upon their deaths, you shall be named guardian of their son Harry Potter, the right of which was granted to you on the completion of the oath which bestowed upon you the title of his godfather." She didn't get to say anymore than that because there was instant pandemonium, from the gallery and Wizengamot alike, at hearing this news.

A blast like a cannon rent the air, quieting the courtroom almost instantly and Dumbledore gave Amelia a nod to continue.

"We have checked the Book of Oaths and found that the Godfather's Oath was indeed taken by you at 7:01PM on the night of December 21, 1980. Could you explain to us why nobody seemed to be aware of you taking this oath Mr. Black?"

"With the war going on, James and Lily didn't want to risk inviting a bunch of people to Harry's christening so it was just the four of us. It was very hurried but towards the end they asked me to be his godfather and I accepted and swore my oath without hesitation. They requested that I keep it quiet though, so we wouldn't make me an even bigger target for Voldemort and his followers than I already was, and I agreed." Sirius said, smiling softly as he remembered how utterly frightened he had been that they had asked him to take on such a large responsibility but also the pride that had swelled inside of him as he promised to love and protect his godson for the rest of his life, to the best of his abilities.

Amelia was glad this first part was going so easily because the next one would be much more difficult. "Due to the fact that informing Voldemort of the Potter's whereabouts, resulting in the attack on the Potter cottage, would be a distinct violation against Mr. Black's sworn oath to his godson, I hereby request that the Wizengamot absolve him of this crime." She said and turned towards the large group to watch the voting.

"All those in favor?" Dumbledore asked and over half of the wands were raised causing a flash of light to appear on the enchanted parchment before him, showing the names in green of all those who had voted in favor.

"All opposed?" The remaining names flashed before him in red and as Dumbledore gave it a cursory look, he noticed that all but one were names of those accused of being Death Eaters after the last war. He gave a small sigh, Sirius had been a great asset in their fight against Voldemort due to his unorthodox manner of dueling and his many ideas on how to fight Death Eaters which, frankly speaking, bordered on the insane, but were quite effective more often than not. It was no wonder they didn't want him running about again, especially if some believed that their master would return one day. And as vindictive as Madam Umbridge, the odd name out, was, it was not surprising that she had raised her wand against the man.

Setting the parchment down, Dumbledore looked at the prisoner. "Sirius Black, you are hereby absolved of the previously stated crime and it shall be wiped from your records." A small spark of triumph lit the gaunt man's face but Dumbledore knew that his troubles weren't over just yet and turned to Amelia. "Madam Bones, you may continue."

Amelia simply gave him a nod. "Would you please tell us Mr. Black, the circumstances that lead to the events on November 2, 1981?"

This question was much harder and the courtroom was unnaturally quiet as Sirius told his heartbreaking tale. How, as the war raged on around him, he began to grow suspicious and mistrustful of many, even one of his oldest friends, Remus Lupin. How when James and Lily informed him that they needed to go into hiding under the Fidelius Charm, despite James' insistence that he wanted Sirius as their Secret-Keeper, he had suggested they use Peter Pettigrew instead since Sirius would be the most obvious choice and nobody would suspect Peter. They didn't tell anyone about the switch.

Tears began spilling down his face as he told them how he had begun to get a bad feeling that Halloween and had gone to visit Peter where he had been hiding, only to find him missing. The feeling grew when he saw no signs of a struggle, so he sped to Godric's Hollow and discovered that the house was almost completely destroyed with his best friend and Lily dead inside. How Hagrid, under Dumbledore's orders, refused to let Sirius take Harry, so he lent Hagrid his flying motorcycle to get Harry safely away.

Sirius' face then contorted into fury as he continued the story, telling them that as soon as Harry and Hagrid were out of sight, he decided to go after the traitor that had given the Potter's whereabouts to Voldemort. How he finally caught up with Peter on November 2nd but realized too late just how cunning the little rat could be when he confronted him in the middle of a busy muggle street. How Peter turned to face him, shouting for all and sundry to hear that Sirius had been the one to betray James and Lily and then he cast an overpowered Blasting Curse in the street, killing the muggles and himself.

When it seemed like he was done speaking Amelia enquired. "There were witness accounts at the scene from muggles, Aurors, and members of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes that say you were laughing maniacally after the explosion. Can you explain this for us please?"

A grin spread over Sirius' face as he answered. "Well, the rat killed himself with his own spell didn't he? Though I would have rather liked to see him rot in Azkaban, blowing himself up is a rather fitting punishment too I suppose."

"I see. Can you explain the witness accounts stating that you were the one to murder these people, not Pettigrew?"

Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "Because I was the only one of us left standing I suppose but I never even got a spell off before he blasted the street apart. You can check my wand, the last spells I cast were a Shield Charm, to protect myself from the blast, and a Disillusionment Charm a few hours before that."

"Let it be known that Mr. Black's wand was checked via the Reverse spell to reveal that the last 3 spells cast with it were first a Disillusionment Charm then a Finite spell followed by a Shield Charm." Amelia said, reading from yet another piece of parchment. "With your permission Mr. Black, I would like to extract the memory of your confrontation with Mr. Pettigrew so that we may view it and corroborate your statement."

Sirius had just nodded his head and a Healer stepped forward to retrieve the memory from him when a childlike voice filled the silence. "Hem hem."

Amelia kept herself from rolling her eyes with great effort but noticed a grin spring up on Sirius' face so figured that she hadn't quite managed to keep the annoyance from showing. Schooling her features she turned towards the woman who had made the god awful noise. "Yes Madam Umbridge, you have something you wish to say?"

"I was just wondering why we are continuing with this nonsense. It is quite clear that the man is guilty and is simply wasting our time with his nasty lies. Besides, any memory he provides would no doubt be altered and only show us what he wants us to see." She simpered, making her toad like face look even more grotesque, at least to Amelia.

"First of all Madam Umbridge, the whole reason we are here today is to provide this man with the trial he was illegally denied 10 years ago. Surely you aren't suggesting we blatantly disregard the very justice system put into place to protect our citizens from being thrown into prison when possibly innocent?" Amelia threw back at her, earning a glare from the toad and causing whispers and side glances to spring up from the gallery.

"Of course not." Umbridge said, straightening up slightly as if that would lend credence to her statement. Not many bought into it though, as those on the Wizengamot were quite used to Umbridge's disdain for non pure-bloods or anyone that disrupted the delicate balance of Fudge's life.

"Glad to hear it. Second of all, memories can only be altered once they have been removed from a person's mind. Since it is my every intention, as it always is, to follow protocol and pour the memory into the court Pensieve as soon as it has been removed from the accused's mind, I am curious as to when you believed any altering of the memory would take place. Unless you thought I would be the one to tamper with it?" She asked harshly, causing the whispers to rise in pitch.

Umbridge knew she had boxed herself into a corner and had no choice but to paste a sickly sweet smile onto her face and say. "Please forgive me Madame Bones, it was not my intention to cast aspersions on you. So silly of me."

Amelia didn't bother giving an answer and simply turned back to Sirius, who promptly winked at her and gave her his best roguish smile, which wasn't much considering his physical state. She promptly ignored him and motioned to the Healer to remove the memory, which she claimed as soon as it was removed and poured into the court Pensieve that had been placed in the middle of the room.

The room was quiet as the memory played out before them, showing clearly that Pettigrew had been the one to cast the Blasting Curse, and when it was done there was once more pandemonium all around, only quieted by another cannon blast from Dumbledore.

As soon as the noise had died down and the memory had been returned to its owner, Amelia pressed on. "With the evidence presented here today I hereby request that Sirius Black be absolved of the crimes regarding the mass murder of 12 muggles and one wizard on November 2, 1981."

"All those in favor?" Dumbledore asked for the second time that day and was glad to see a little more than half of the Wizengamot's wands raised.

"All opposed?" The parchment before him once again showed the names of the accused Death Eaters, but also those few Wizengamot members who were not so easily swayed in their beliefs that the Black family was dark and so must Sirius be as well.

Dumbledore lowered the parchment and looked down at Sirius with a smile. "Sirius Black, you are hereby absolved of the previously stated crime and it shall be wiped from your records." He repeated the same words from earlier and waved his wand, causing the chains wrapped around him to fall away. "We, the Wizengamot, do extend our sincerest apologies for your wrongful imprisonment and the Ministry of Magic will be presenting you with reparations of 8,000 Galleons for every year you were imprisoned, making for a total of 80,000 Galleons for all ten years, which will be directly deposited into your Gringotts account no later than a week from today. We also offer to pay for any and all hospital visits you may need to get you healthy from your stay in Azkaban."

"I have one more request for the Wizengamot if you would allow it Chief Warlock." Amelia spoke up before he could dismiss everyone.

"By all means Madam Bones." He said genially.

She let a small, impish grin grace her features as she looked directly at Sirius, knowing he would enjoy this next bit very much. "I hereby request that the Order of Merlin, First Class, posthumously awarded to Peter Pettigrew, be revoked for his crimes against the Potters on October 31, 1981 and the mass murder of 12 muggles on November 2, 1981."

This time, when Dumbledore asked for a vote, every wand was raised in the air as quickly as possible and Sirius let forth a barking laugh.

"Very well, Peter Pettigrew's name shall forthwith be struck from the Book of Valor and his Order of Merlin revoked. Is there anymore business we must go over?" Dumbledore asked, looking at Amelia, and when she shook her head in the negative he continued. "Then this court is now adjourned, have a pleasant day everyone."

As Sirius stood somewhat uncertainly he discreetly lifted the sleeve on his left arm to show the bare skin where the Dark Mark would be were he a Death Eater. He smiled to himself as the flashbulbs from the numerous reporters being held back in the press gallery by the Aurors went off and incredulous shouts spread throughout the crowd as the those that had seen his unblemished skin began informing those around them who hadn't noticed. 'Ha, let them chew on that one.' He thought and then was immediately deterred from his revelry as he was approached by Amelia followed closely by the Flamels. "Nick, Nell? What are you two doing here?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Flamel are the ones that presented me with a copy of the Potter Will and got this whole thing started." Amelia answered for them.

"It's good to see you Sirius. We're so sorry we didn't realize your innocence sooner." Nell exclaimed and she enveloped him in a hug, despite him not having bathed in almost a week.

Sirius gave as good as he got, relishing in the first positive human contact he had had in 10 years, before Nell released him and Nick stepped forward to shake his hand. "Do any of you know where Harry is?"

"He is at school right now. Nell and I thought it would be best if he weren't here during the trial, though he did put up quite a fuss about being left behind." Nick said.

"You're probably right. It would have been nice to see him though." Sirius deflated a bit and he started to feel drained as the adrenaline he had experienced during the trial began to fade. "Did you two take him after everything that happened?"

"Not quite." Nell said cautiously not wanting to bombard him with such gloomy happenings after the day he had had and, noticing Sirius' declining state, decided to use it to their advantage. "Perhaps we should wait until you're better before we go into all of that. I think you should get checked into St. Mungo's as soon as possible so they can take a look at you."

"I think so too Mr. Black." Amelia spoke up. "I will escort you to the DMLE so we can get you a change of clothes and then I will take you to the hospital myself so you don't get hassled by anyone and to ensure they set you up with a private room."

"But what about Har…" Sirius tried but was cut off by Nell.

"We will of course let him know that you were asking about him and recommend that he write to you. I'm sure he would love to tell you all about how his first year at Hogwarts is going so far. You two can start exchanging letters until we can bring him to see you, probably around Christmas."

"Yes, that will give you time to get healed and feeling more like yourself." Nick chimed in.

Sirius looked uncertain. "Are you sure he would want to write to me? I haven't seen him since he was a baby."

"Don't worry so much. He really was very disappointed that he didn't get to come see you. Once you meet again I bet you two will hit it off splendidly." Nell reassured him.

Amelia didn't think that Sirius would be able to stay upright much longer so interjected. "I really think we should be going Mr. Black. The sooner you get better the sooner you can start getting situated into your new life."

It took a little bit more persuading but she finally managed to get him to say goodbye to the Flamels before dragging him through the large group of reporters waiting outside of the courtroom and up to Level 2. She had him change out of his prison garb and into something more comfortable before shooting him with a mild cleaning charm to get rid of the worst of the dirt and grime that clung to him and let him know that he would be able to get cleaned up properly once they had signed him into St. Mungo's. As she was escorting him out, Amelia grabbed two Aurors to stand guard outside his room until the Prophet could spread the word of his innocence.

Harry met Nick and Nell in the Entrance Hall as soon as they arrived, having been waiting for them for the past thirty minutes or so. He couldn't explain his anticipation at meeting his godfather but the Flamels had told him quite a few stories of the man and Harry thought that he would be a very interesting person to get to know. "How did it go?" He asked immediately after greeting them.

"It went much better than we originally thought it would." Nell informed him. "He was exonerated of all charges and taken straight to St. Mungo's so he can be healed, both physically and mentally, from his time spent in Azkaban. He did ask about you though."

"Really? What did he say?"

"He would like to see you but understands that he needs to heal up a bit first before that will be possible. He also expressed a desire to start exchanging letters if you are interested." Nick said and smiled at Harry's eagerness.

"Of course! I can go start one now." He exclaimed but paused in thought then deflated a bit before rushing on. "What do I say? What if he doesn't like me? What if…"

"Calm down sweetheart." Nell interrupted and ran a hand through his hair. "Just start out by telling him your thoughts on school so far, about your friends, and even about Hedwig. As far as whether or not he will like you, well, he is your godfather and I have no doubt that he will love you no matter what."

That eased the majority of Harry's worries and he gave them both a big smile.

"Now, why don't you come on up to our quarters and we can help you with your letter in case you get stuck and Hedwig can be on her way to London to deliver her first letter by the time we sit down to dinner." Nick suggested and when Harry gave a nod of approval to this plan the three of them began making their way to the Grand Staircase, Harry talking excitedly all the way.

OoOoOoO

It was a cloudy and freezing Saturday afternoon just two weeks after Sirius had had his trial, and Harry, Neville, and Hermione were currently trudging across Hogwarts' grounds to Hagrid's hut. They had decided to surprise their friend with a visit since it had been some time since they had done so and none of the others had wanted to traverse the cold so it was just the three of them.

"I hope he is actually there." Neville said through chattering teeth.

"Me too. I could use a nice cup of hot tea right about now." Hermione agreed and burrowed deeper into her coat as the wind picked up a bit.

Harry was quiet as they came upon the hut as he had begun to feel a slight but persistent tug on his mind, similar to when Hedwig tried to get his attention, but had checked their bond and knew that she was currently sleeping peacefully in the owlery, so he was trying to figure out where the tug might be coming from.

Hermione knocked on Hagrid's door once they reached it but all that greeted them from within, was silence. "Oh, I knew we should have owled him before coming down here." She groaned and stamped her foot.

As she and Neville argued about whether it would be rude to just go in and wait by the fire, the tug became more persistent and slightly frantic. When it began to get unbearable for him, without a word, Harry turned and left them standing on Hagrid's porch to begin making his way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where he felt the pull originating.

"Harry, what are you doing?!" Hermione yelled and ran forward to grab his arm to try and keep him from walking into the forest.

Harry ignored her pulling and simply slid his arm out of her grasp to continue on. "There is something wrong. I think someone needs help." He said.

Neville and Hermione shared a worried look but before they could attempt to grab him again, Harry stepped into the forest and was soon swallowed up by the darkness. "Something weird is going on." Neville said. "I… I'll go after him to try and get him to come back out and you try and find Hagrid or a professor." He instructed and with as much courage as he could muster, hurried after their friend.

"Oh, please be careful!" Hermione shouted and started running as fast as she could back to the castle to find an adult to help them.

She was halfway across the lawn, muttering about foolish boys all the way, when she remembered Nell's first DADA class and mentally kicked herself for being so stupid as to forget such a simple thing. She stopped in her tracks, pulled her wand, pointed it straight up in the air, and shot red sparks into the sky. "There, that ought to get someone's attention." The young brunette muttered to herself as she turned around and made her way back to Hagrid's hut to wait for the cavalry.

Meanwhile, Neville, who had hesitated at the edge of the forest before plunging in, finally got a glimpse of his friend walking quickly ahead of him and called out. "Harry mate, please stop! We shouldn't be in here, it's dangerous!"

Harry didn't slow down, but simply turned his head to the side so he could yell back to Neville. "Someone's in trouble Nev, I have to help her!"

"Who…" Was all Neville managed before he was interrupted by a squeal of what sounded like fear and pain in equal measure coming from in front and to the right of them.

At hearing this, as well as feeling the fear pierce through his mind like a spike, Harry began running as fast as he could towards the noise, completely ignoring the cuts he was receiving when he didn't get his hands up fast enough to protect his face and neck from the numerous branches. As he neared the area where the scream had originated, he began to hear what sounded like struggling and snapping along with the squeals and a few seconds later, he burst through a large bush and came to a surprised stop.

About 5 feet in front of him, was a humongous plant with green tentacles and a large eyeless head and caught in its thorny grasp was an entirely golden horse foal, struggling to get away. When she caught sight of the human boy, the foal let out another squeal, breaking Harry out of his stupor and with a flick of his wrist, his wand slid swiftly into his hand and he brought it up to take aim at the giant head, with its mouth open wide to chomp down on the terrified horse, and bellowed. "Stupify!"

His aim was true and as soon as the spell hit, the head lolled to the side and the tentacles stopped moving, though they still gripped the horse tightly, causing small cuts to appear as she struggled with renewed strength to get free.

"Shhh, everything's all right." Harry cooed and walked slowly up to the young foal, hearing Neville come up behind him and gasp at the sight before him. "Nev, can you keep your wand on the plant and stun it every few minutes or if you see it move while I try and free her?"

"Harry, that's a Venomous Tentacula." He near whispered in awe and fright but came forward with his wand drawn nonetheless. "Watch out for the teeth, they're very poisonous."

Harry simply nodded as he tried to send waves of reassurance down the same link he felt the fear, pain, and now somewhat relief coming from. This seemed to help some as the foal turned her golden eyes on him and stopped her struggling somewhat. "There we go, that's great." He said softly and raised his wand where she could see it. "Now, I'm going to need to cut these tentacles away so I need you to be as still as possible for me ok?"

While he had never heard of a golden horse before, though some distant memory concerning golden hair flickered at the back of his mind before being promptly forgotten, Harry guessed that she must be some kind of magical creature and hoped she was as intelligent as she seemed or this would be a lot harder. He let out a sigh of relief when she stopped struggling completely and he immediately started working on sending under-powered cutting charms at the tentacles wrapped around her.

Not a minute later, he heard Neville mutter something and caught a flash of red light out of the corner of his eye. "I saw Hermione send some red sparks up when she went to get help. This way, whoever is looking for us will know where we are." He explained.

"Good idea mate. Sorry I dragged you into this, but I could feel her fear and pain in my mind and couldn't just ignore it." Harry said but before his friend could answer, the foal started fidgeting again in earnest. He realized that his attention had slipped somewhat and was working to send more positive emotions to her when he felt a burst of reassurance flow through his and Hedwig's bond and make its way through the link he had with the foal, quieting her down again.

He raised his head and saw Hedwig land gracefully on a branch of the tree right in front of them. "Hey Hedwig, I didn't even realize all this commotion had woken you up. Thanks for coming to help." She sent him a feeling of protectiveness and more reassurance before settling down and starting to twitter and whistle at the horse.

Neville stunned the plant again and looked around them at the dark forest. "Where do you think her herd is at?" He asked. "Unicorns don't usually let their foals wander around on their own, especially in dangerous areas like this."

Harry paused in his casting and turned to his friend in bewilderment. "Unicorn?"

"Yeah." Neville responded, as if that explained everything, but when Harry still looked confused he decided to go on. "That's what she is Harry, she's a Unicorn."

"Really?" Harry said and turned back to his work. "Aren't Unicorns supposed to be white and have a horn?"

Neville shook his head, even though Harry couldn't see it. "Not when they are younger. I think they turn silver when they're about 2 years old and don't get their horn until… 4 years old? Or maybe five." He hesitated as he thought about it. "I can't remember specifically, but I know they don't turn white until they are fully grown. What did you think she was?"

Harry was silent as he stamped down his embarrassment and cleared his throat before finally answering. "I thought she was some kind of magical horse."

The Unicorn foal snorted in displeasure and indignation was felt clearly along their link, which Harry noticed was a bit weaker than it had been before.

"I'm sorry!" He exclaimed and heard Neville snicker. "I haven't read about real Unicorns yet."

Both boys were grateful that the misunderstanding caused some of the tension and fear to subside, but they made sure to keep their guard up in case anything came upon them from the darkness.

After another five minutes or so, and another stunning spell directed at the Venomous Tenatacula, Harry cried out in triumph as the last tentacle was cut away and the Unicorn was free. As soon as she stepped away from the poisonous plant, Harry directed her and Neville far away from it and out of its reach. When they finally stopped, Hedwig flying over to join them, the foal immediately buried her head into Harry's chest and started snorting and shivering.

He started cooing at her again and petting her lightly as he wondered how they were going to heal the numerous cuts she had gotten from the thorny tentacles as well as what the heck they were going to do now. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind when they heard loud rustling noises coming from behind them and both boys spun around with their wands drawn, ready and willing, if not totally able, to take on anyone or anything that came at them. As prepared as they were to face some horrid dangerous creature, Hagrid's booming voice calling their names was beyond welcoming and their shoulders sagged in relief.

It didn't take Hagrid long to find them when Neville sent up more red sparks and before they knew it, he came barreling out of the bushes wielding a large crossbow and startling the young Unicorn. "What do yeh think yer doin' runnin' around the…" But he stopped himself when he noticed the frightened Unicorn.

"Well…" Neville began but wasn't sure what to say exactly so turned to Harry for assistance.

"I'm not sure what happened Hagrid." Harry said as he calmed the foal down again. "We were coming to visit you and I felt this tugging feeling in my mind, kind of like the one I experienced with Hedwig in Diagon Alley, but much weaker and also kind of different… it's kind of hard to explain." He admitted when he almost started to ramble. "Anyway, I could tell that she was in trouble, even if I didn't know who or what she was, so I started following the feeling and came upon her being attacked by this giant plant…"

"A Venomous Tentacula!" Neville interrupted giddily, he couldn't explain it but he felt so relieved after being frighted out of his wits that he was almost bouncing up and down with the sensation. "It's gigantic Hagrid!" He near shouted, pointing at where the poisonous plant was still unconscious. "And it had its tentacles wrapped around her whole body!"

"It was about to bite her when I pulled my wand and stunned it. Then I worked on getting her free, which I had just done and pulled her away when you showed up." Harry finished the explanation.

Hagrid hefted his giant crossbow onto his shoulder as he listened and looked down at the three of them. "Were yeh able ter send emotions back t' her?" He asked the raven haired boy and smiled when he got a nod in response. "Well, it sounds like she migh' be another familiar fer yeh Harry. The reason the feeling isn' quite the same is because she is still too young to bond with yeh. She looks like she should be turnin' 2 in another 7 or 8 months. See here?" He bent down and pointed to her hooves. "She is startin' ter get some silver on her."

Harry bent down to get a closer look and did see some silver hair just above her hooves. When he stood back up, the foal buried her head back into his chest for comfort, and he tried feeling through the bond to see how she was feeling and realized that he could hardly sense her in his mind at all anymore. "Hagrid, I can't sense her in my mind anymore." He said out loud, starting to panic and not sure what that could mean but not liking it one bit.

Hagrid lay a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down Harry, the only reason yeh felt her before is cause her emotions were heightened due ter bein' scared. As she grows older, yeh'll be able to sense her more an' more until she is full grown, probably before or around yer 7th year, an' ready to bond with yeh."

This news made Harry sad, especially now that he knew what the feeling meant, he didn't want to wait years to be able to bond with his new familiar. As he continued to absentmindedly pet the Unicorn and still tried to feel their bond, Hedwig came down and alighted on his shoulder, rubbing her head against his cheek in comfort. "How can we heal all the cuts she got from the Venomous Tentacula?" He finally spoke into the silence that had descended, Hagrid and Neville realizing their friend needed a moment.

"She'll heal on her own. As long as the wound isn' fatal, Unicorns heal jus' fine." The giant answered.

Harry opened his mouth to ask another question but was kept from saying anything by a sight that took his breath away. A whole herd of fully grown Unicorns had silently approached and surrounded them before they even realized what had happened and Harry couldn't be bothered to care as their sheer beauty put all things from his mind.

Before any of the humans could pull themselves together, two Unicorns stepped out of the circle and came towards them. The foal brought her head up and neighed at the pair but stayed close to Harry, who's grip tightened a bit around her neck, as he realized that these must be her parents and they had come to collect their child, but he didn't want her to go.

" _Do not worry young one."_ A melodious female voice, that sounded like dozens of tinkling bells, reverberated through his mind. " _I am Kylina and this is my mate Auris. We are the parents of Jaidynn and we thank you for saving her."_

"You're welcome." He responded out loud automatically and Neville gave him a strange look.

"Harry, who are you talking to?"

"The Unicorn." Harry said and pointed to each in turn. "That's Kylina, Auris, and this is Jaidynn."

At hearing her name, Jaidynn nickered and grabbed onto Harry's shirt with her mouth and drug him over to her parents.

Harry was hesitant to follow at first but gave in and took the few steps to stand in front of the two large Unicorns.

 _"_ _You do not need to fear us young one."_ Auris spoke, his deep resonating voice penetrating his thoughts. " _We can sense the bond you share with our daughter and having such a bond makes you a part of our herd. Though you can not feel her within you now, she will be able to hear your call. Any time you wish to see her you need only approach the forest and call for her in your mind and we will bring her to you."_

Kylina bobbed her head up and down and snorted loudly. _"You must not enter the forest again though, young one. There is a darkness here that we have not seen before and it has already claimed the life of one of our sisters and it is not safe to wonder, especially for a young foal such as yourself."_ She came forward and touched her horn gently to his forehead and stepped back as her mate did the same. _"We must be going now but thank you again for saving our Jaidynn."_

Harry gave Jaidynn one final hug before reaching up hesitantly to pet Kylina and Auris on the nose. "Goodbye, and be safe." He said sadly and watched them step back into the forest, Jaidynn stopping to turn and give him one final neigh before following her parents.

It was several moments after the herd had left before Hagrid stepped forward and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder again and gave it a squeeze. "Don' yeh worry Harry, she'll be waitin' fer yeh whenever yeh want to visit I'm sure."

Harry nodded numbly. "They said that something bad was in here and one of them already died. What if something happens to them?"

"On'y somethin' very evil and powerful would even be able ter catch a Unicorn Harry and her herd won' be leavin' her alone again any time soon." Hagrid said reassuringly. "She probably wondered off by herself and jus' went too far.

"When did they speak? I didn't hear anything." Neville asked.

Harry finally turned away from the spot where the Unicorns had disappeared into the forest and smiled at his friend. "I heard them in my mind Nev. I wonder why they only talked to me though."

"Probably because o' the bond you have with the foal. Adult Unicorns have the ability ter speak ter anyone but they don' often use it unless they have some sort o' connection with the person." Hagrid informed them, then brought his crossbow down. "We should be gettin' back now, I left Hermione in me hut when I came ter get yeh."

Harry and Neville both groaned and turned to each other.

"She's gonna kill me." Harry said miserably.

Before Neville could say anything in response, Hagrid spoke up. "Oh now, she is jus' worried about yeh. Let's get goin'."

With Hagrid leading the way it didn't take them long to find their way back out of the dark forest and when they emerged, it was to find a very irate Hermione Granger waiting for them.

"Harry James Potter, what were you thinking?" She practically yelled at him when they were safely ensconced in the warm hut and then promptly tried to squeeze him to death in a hug before going to Neville and doing the same.

"Sorry Hermione, I didn't mean to worry you." He replied and told her all about what had happened after they separated while they sat down at the table and Hagrid made them all some tea.

"Well, at least there was a semi valid reason for you to break the rules and go traipsing around the Forbidden Forest." She said once he was done and threw down the bit of gauze she had been using to clean up the numerous cuts he had gotten from running through the forest.

Harry blanched at hearing this and looked to Hagrid. "You don't think I'll get in trouble do you? I couldn't really help it."

"Hard ter say Harry. I suppose tha' would be up ter Professor Sprout, though I imagine Proffesor Flamel and Professor Nick will be upset when they hear abou' it."

Harry hadn't thought about Nick and Nell's reaction and groaned as his head dropped to the table with a thunk, causing Hedwig to hop down onto the table in front of him.

"Honestly," Hermione sniffed down her nose at him, her anger and worry not quite dissipated yet. "what did you expect?" And when it didn't seem like Harry would pick his head up anytime soon, she yanked him back up straight so she could begin dabbing his cuts with wound sealing paste.

"I wasn't really thinking about anything else, I was a little preoccupied with saving a Unicorn wasn't I?" He snarked and crinkled his nose in disgust at the smell of the paste as she covered a cut just above his lip.

"I'm sure they'll understand once you explain what happened." Neville said, trying to reassure his friend and prevent whatever scathing comment Hermione looked like she was about to throw out.

Hermione finished fixing Harry up, put her things back into her first aid kit, and drank the rest of her tea before standing up. "Which we should go do now or they might get even more upset at not being told right away."

Harry groaned again but stood up anyway, moving Hedwig back up to his shoulder.

Hagrid stood as well and said. "Thanks fer comin' ter visit me you three. I think I'll go ahead and walk yeh back up ter the castle just in case anythin' else happens."

The walk back wasn't quite as bad as it had been earlier due to Hagrid's large body blocking the stinging winds from reaching them and they reached the castle in short order, much to Harry's chagrin. Out curiosity, he glanced at the two Aurors stationed at the entrance, wondering why they hadn't come running at seeing Hermione's sparks, and saw that they had stepped slightly into the little alcoves on either side of the door to get out of the wind and probably hadn't seen them from the positions they were in.

"Come on then Harry, lets go check to see if they are in their quarters." Hermione suggested once Hagrid had left them to go about his business and began to lead the way up the Grand Staircase without waiting for a response.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you're just a little too excited to see me get in trouble." Harry accused as he followed her.

"Not exactly excited but if getting in trouble will keep you from doing foolish things without waiting for help then I'm all for it." She replied primly.

"I told you I couldn't help it. If I hadn't gone in when I did then Jaidynn would probably be dead right now." He argued angrily, his voice cracking at even thinking about his new familiar dying and Hedwig immediately sent reassurance and images of Jaidynn whole and healthy down their bond.

Hermione spun around as they waited for the staircase leading to the fourth floor to swing back into place and glared at him. "I understand that Harry but it's not the point. There are tons of dark creatures in the Forbidden Forest, which is why students aren't allowed to go in it, and you just strolled right in, taking Neville with you. You didn't know what was drawing you in and whether or not it was really friendly or something playing tricks. What would have happened if you had met more than just the Venomous Tentacula in there?"

Harry didn't have a reply to this and looked guiltily down at his feet.

Neville, seeing his friends distress, stepped in. "I think he gets it Hermione."

Hermione softened at that and tugged on Harry's sleeve to get him moving up the staircase once it stopped and said quietly. "I'm sorry Harry. You two are some of my first ever friends and I got really scared that something bad would happen to you both."

"Sorry again for scaring you Hermione, I'll try not to do it again. Do you want to meet Jaidynn sometime? Auris said that all I have to do is call to her and they will bring her to see me."

This perked Hermione up as she thought about getting to see and possibly touch an actual Unicorn. "That would be great Harry."

"They're a bit intimidating." Neville said. "But that might have been because the whole herd had surrounded us."

"I'm sure it will be a bit better when it's just the three of them." Harry replied as they came upon Nick and Nell's quarters and when he hesitated on knocking, Hermione pushed past him and did it herself.

They didn't have to wait long before Nick answered the door and adopted a worried look immediately at seeing Harry's slowly fading injuries. "Harry, what happened to you?" He asked and opened the door to invite them in.

Nell immediately rushed over at hearing Nick's question and greeted them, then immediately grabbed Harry's shoulders so she could look him over.

Harry hesitated again but at a nudge from Hermione he retold his story, putting as much emphasis as he could on the fact that he really couldn't help himself from going into the forest and when he was finished, he waited for their reactions.

"So let me get this straight." Nell said with as much calm as she could muster. "You felt something, you didn't know what at the time, pulling you towards the Forbidden Forest and instead of attempting to alert an adult to the situation, you simply went looking for whatever it was?"

"Um… y… yes." Harry stammered but tried to justify his actions. "It didn't feel evil or anything though. It kind of felt like my bond with Hedwig but if she were scared and hurt."

"That is beside the point. There is all kinds of different magic in the world, including dark magic used to confound and bewitch others. Such a feeling could very well have been fabricated by a witch or wizard that was attempting to lure you in." Nell shot down his defense.

"Harry, do you remember what happened on Halloween?" Nick asked, trying to give his wife some time to calm down a bit. Harry nodded and he continued. "How the Headmaster let the students know the next day that there had been a break in, that the intruder had not been caught, and that that was the reason that the Aurors are now stationed at the main doors of the Entrance Hall?" Again, Harry nodded, with even Neville and Hermione chiming in. "That means that the very man willing to injure children to get to what he wants may very well be inside the Forbidden Forest at this moment waiting for another chance. What if it had been him trying to lure you into the forest to capture you and take you hostage?"

"I… I don't know." Harry finally admitted after much thought and fidgeted under the intense gazes he was receiving from the adults and the smug look that had plastered itself on Hermione's face.

"We aren't trying to make you feel guilty. We are just trying to make sure you understand the dangers of this new world and how you might avoid them in the future. Do you understand?" Nell asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry." He replied.

"Thank you Harry, we are glad that you are all ok. It looks like your wounds are all healed up as well." Nick said, having watched as the small cuts had closed up then vanished completely while they had been speaking. "Did you use your wound sealing paste?" It had only been a few weeks ago that he had had the first years brew the paste specifically so they could stow it in their first aid kits. It was only good for small cuts and could help stop the bleeding of medium sized wounds but the first years weren't yet able to brew any of the stronger pastes so he and Madame Pomfrey had decided that it was better than nothing.

Harry let a small smile creep onto his face, glad for the lighter conversation. "That was Hermione. As soon as she saw them she brought out her first aid kit and started to clean them up and mend them." He said and turned to the young brunette, who looked rather embarrassed but also pleased at Nick and Nell's approving smiles.

"Well thank you very much Hermione, you did an excellent job." Nell said, making her stand just a little straighter, before turning to Neville. "And thank you Neville, for going after Harry. It was a very brave thing for you to do."

"Y… you're welcome." Neville stammered, lowering his head and shuffling his feet.

"Now, we must go and speak with Professors Sprout and McGonagall about this incident and neither of you two will argue about whatever punishments they see fit to give you for going into the Forbidden Forest, no matter what your reasons. Do I make myself clear?"

Both boy's eyes widened in fear but they had no choice but to nod their understanding.

"Good, we will then speak with the Headmaster to let him know about Jaidynn so that we can set up a schedule for you to go see her." Nell stated and noticed Harry smile at hearing that.

In the end, Neville actually received 5 points for attempting to bring Harry back from going into the forest as well as for assisting him with rescuing Jaidynn, though he was given a rather stern warning from McGonagall about the consequences of going into the forest in the future. Harry on the other hand, lost 25 points and received two detentions with Nell, where she had him research various dark spells and items used to ensnare their victims and write a foot long essay on how to recognize and defend against them, even if he wasn't yet capable of casting most of the spells used to do so.

The meeting with Dumbledore went much better and, after speaking with Hagrid, they decided that every Sunday morning Harry would be escorted by one or both of the Flamels down to Hagrid's hut, where he would be allowed to call for Jaidynn and visit with his future familiar for a while. Harry was very glad for this and was beyond excited when they agreed to let him go see her the next day and he immediately invited Neville and Hermione to go with him, deciding to invite Susan and Hannah the next weekend then Blaise, Daphne, and Tracey the weekend after that. He thought it would be better to introduce his friends to her gradually before letting them all come together.

Later that evening, right after his first detention with Nell was over, Harry rushed to his dormitory so that he could write a letter to Sirius about everything that had happened. After he had written his first letter and received a lengthy one back, Hedwig had been kept busy flying back and forth from Hogwarts to St. Mungo's as godfather and godson got to know each other. But as light hearted as the majority of Sirius' letters were to him, Harry could note a touch of something darker every so often, whether in the words he used or the topics he wrote about, though when he mentioned it to Nick and Nell they reassured him that that should fade as he continued to get better and was simply a remnant of his time spent in Azkaban.

Sirius had also mentioned in his last letter that his Healer had told him that he would be ready to see visitors by the time the Christmas holidays came around and he had immediately written to his godson to let him know he was invited whenever the Flamels were able to bring him and Harry was excited to finally get to meet him in person.


	12. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Sirius finally gets his trial and much to the astonishment of magical Britain, and the chagrin of the Death Eaters, is found not guilty of all charges. Harry finds a Unicorn in trouble in the Forbidden Forest and finds out that she is actually another of his familiars. His happiness diminishes somewhat when he learns that he won't be able to fully bond with Jaidynn until she is full grown but is heartened by the fact that he can visit her every weekend.

 **A/N:** I would like to apologize profusely for the long delay in posting this new chapter. I have been having major computer problems since Christmas and it was hard for me to be able to get on long enough to type up what I had written down. I hope things go a bit more smoothly from here on out but I can't make any promises but please know that I have not abandoned this story.

 **A/N 2:** I would also like to inform all those that have been with me since the beginning that this will no longer be a Harry/Luna/Ginny pairing but strictly Harry/Luna going forward. Sorry to all of those that were looking forward to the three of them together but as I was thinking about possible future scenes I realized that I wouldn't be able to write them together as well as I originally thought and got permission from the challenger of the story to simply drop Ginny from the group. The pairing won't officially show up until way later so it really won't have much bearing on how things progress until around 4th year or so.

* * *

"Harry, are you listening to me?" Hermione asked with a note of irritation in her voice. She had been talking for a solid 5 minutes before she realized that Harry hadn't uttered any kind of verbal response to tell her he was listening to a word she said. It wasn't the fact that he wasn't paying attention to her that upset her, rather the fact that she would have to repeat her theories on the merit of using Transfiguration in dueling all over again.

Harry looked up from the notebook he had been writing in and blinked owlishly at her for a moment before adopting a sheepish look. "Sorry Hermione, you're idea about magical parchment enchanted to read spells cast by a specific person's wand kind of set me on track to an idea for something I've been working on since the summer." He apologized, hoping his admission would activate her curious nature and divert her anger.

He and Hermione were currently ensconced in a back corner of the library pouring over defensive texts on dueling as well as charms and enchantments. They had been working on the report Nell had asked for regarding the dueling club they wanted to start next year during their free time. Hermione, having much more time on her hands than Harry, had accumulated a wealth of knowledge and notes on the subject but seemed to be having trouble on how best to organize everything according to each students year and the obvious differences in skill and abilities. They were supposed to be throwing out ideas for various points she was getting stuck on but Harry had gotten sidetracked somewhat.

Harry's hope won out and the look of annoyance transformed into one of curiosity as she slid over a seat so she was directly in front of him across the table. "Oh, and what are you working on?"

"Well over the summer when Nick and Nell were telling me about some of the laws of the magical world, Nick mentioned that it was against the law in Britain for underage witches and wizards to use magic when not at school. I thought that was kind of silly and asked how they were supposed to practice spells and such if they couldn't do magic and they simply said that the time was used for studying theory and the like instead."

Hermione nodded her head in understanding. "That's true. I asked Professor McGonagall what kind of homework they give out during the holidays and she said that the majority of it is essays since we can't work on the practical aspects while outside of Hogwarts."

"But that was my problem with it." Harry admitted. "It seems kind of idiotic to have us learn all these spells during the school year and then make us go months without being able to even practice them or try and learn any new spells for our next year."

"I see what you're saying Harry, but that law was put in place due mostly to Muggle-born witches and wizards getting caught doing magic around relatives and sometimes even out in public, thus inadvertently breaking the Statute of Secrecy." Hermione explained, she didn't like the law anymore than Harry did but she could understand why they had felt the need for it.

Harry waved a hand in front of his face impatiently. "I know that but nearly every country around the world deals with the same thing and only a handful of them actually have a law in place that bans underage witches and wizards from being able to do magic. Nell mentioned that the ones that do seem to be the countries that still have a dim view of Muggle-borns and Half-bloods so they simply don't see the need to work on a way around it. When I asked her what Muggle-borns had to do with it she explained that the Ministry can only detect magic used in the area of someone underage, not who actually cast the spell, so wizarding parents can let their children use magic if they want without the Ministry being any the wiser."

Hermione's mouth dropped open in astonishment. "But that's…" She practically shouted before remembering where they were and lowering her voice. "That's so unfair. The students whose parents don't mind breaking the law can practice magic all they want and have an advantage over those who can't use it during the summer and holidays."

"That's exactly what I said when she told me but she said that it's part of living in such a prejudice society and the Ministry just doesn't care enough to take the time to try and find a way to fix it."

After fuming silently for a minute or so, Hermione calmed down enough to remember what had started this conversation in the first place. "You said you were working on something?"

Harry beamed and nodded vigorously. "After that I started thinking about a kid in my old school bragging about a miniature keyboard his parents had bought him for his birthday so he could practice playing the piano until they felt he was ready for a real one. I asked Nick and Nell if anyone had ever thought about making a type of practice wand that those underage could use to practice spells but neither of them had ever heard of such a thing and even if it did exist, it would still go against the law for underage magic. Then I asked if they could come up with something like it but that would take the law into account." Harry stopped and paused for dramatic effect.

"Well, what did they say?" Hermione exclaimed and swatted Harry on the hand when he didn't continue immediately. If there was going to be a wand invented that she could use to practice spells over the holidays, she wanted to know about it.

"They said they couldn't." He said bluntly, rubbing the back of his stinging hand but continued before Hermione's face could fall further into disappointment. "But that they would help me in doing so."

Hermione looked deeply confused at hearing that. "They want you to invent this practice wand? But you hardly know anything about magic."

"According to Nell, that would actually work to my advantage since I also don't know the limitations of what magic is capable of, therefore I won't let anything hold me back. Nick disappeared into his workshop and emerged holding a blank journal which he handed to me and told me to carry around at all times so that I could jot down ideas whenever they came to me, not just ideas about the wand but anything and everything else that popped into my head." Harry tilted his head to the side in thought. "Now that I think back on it, it kind of seemed like they were challenging me."

"That makes sense." At Harry's nonplussed look, she explained. "Both of the Flamels are inventors of a sort, Professor Nick with his Alchemy and Professor Flamel with her spell-crafting, and they are used to thinking outside the box as it were. They are just trying to bring out your creativity and encourage you to look at things in different ways. My parents used to do the same with me but with puzzles and such. My dad still randomly asks me riddles to try and catch me off guard sometimes."

Harry decided that Hermione was probably right. "That does seem like something they might do."

"So what have you come up with for the wand?"

He looked down at his journal full of his nearly illegible handwriting and smiled. "I think I'm about ready to present my idea to Nell." Hermione bounced excitedly in her seat and looked at him expectantly so he decided that there was no harm in seeing what she thought about it first and started explaining from the beginning. "It was kind of slow going at first, I had the result of what I wanted but couldn't figure out how to go about reaching my goal. It took me some time to realize that instead of focusing on the wand as a whole, I should think about each problem individually.

"I started with the Statute of Secrecy, which I know goes hand in hand with underage magic but I thought it would be easier to figure that part out first than it would the other. I researched the laws, trying to find anything that would help and came up with a few things that didn't really work out. Then an idea came to me after overhearing an argument during one of our study sessions between Blaise and Dean about Dean's muggle watch. You remember?" He asked.

"Yes, Blaise thought it was a very nice watch until Dean told him that his mum had sent him a mechanical watch from the muggle world when his digital watch stopped working shortly after he came to Hogwarts, then Blaise started arguing with him on how wizard watches were superior even though at a glance he couldn't tell the difference."

"Exactly. The advantage of a wizard watch is the enchantments placed on it to keep it from breaking or falling off but take it into the muggle world and nobody would be able to tell that it was a wizard watch since it works and looks the same as a regular one right? So the wand could be made to look like an everyday muggle toy wand to anybody who looks at it and when a spell is cast, instead of a jet of light, the tip of the wand merely lights up green or red to let you know whether the spell was cast successfully."

"Oh Harry, that's brilliant." Hermione said and noticed his cheeks turning slightly pink at her praise.

"Thanks." He said and ran a hand through his messy hair. "The next bit was harder and I delved into everything the library had on wandlore. I learned that no matter what wood and core are used to make the wand, even if the core is a Troll whisker, each one is designed to help channel a witch or wizard's magic. So the traditional wand was obviously out of the question and I had hit a wall until you mentioned the enchanted parchment.

"What if the wand was made with standard wood and enchanted to recognize the spells incantation and wand movement, sort of like preprograming. That way, the magic isn't coming from the person but is contained in the wand and enchanted items don't set off the Trace charm. In addition to green for correctly cast spells and red for incorrect, maybe the tip could also glow purple if the incantation was right but the movement wrong and blue if the movement was right but the incantation wrong…." Harry trailed off as he began to ramble his thoughts out loud and noticed Hermione hurriedly packing up the table. "What are you doing"

"We need to go see Professor Flamel immediately. I want to see what she has to say about your idea." She said and pushed a large stack of books in his direction before walking off with her own. "Hurry up and put those away and we'll meet back at the library entrance."

As they made their way up to Nick and Nell quarters, they were continuously stopped by their friends either individually or in pairs and Hermione, being as impatient as she was to continue on, invited them all to follow them if they wanted to know why they were in such a hurry to see the Flamels. The much expanded group of eight finally made it to the 4th floor and Hermione knocked impatiently on the door until Nell answered. She looked surprised to see them all standing there but quickly overcame it. "Hello everyone, what brings you here?"

"Harry has something he wants to tell you Professor and it's really important." Hermione rushed out. "May we come in?"

"Of course." Nell replied and held the door open for them. Once Nick had joined them and they were all seated with cups of tea, Nell asked. "Now, what did you want to speak about?"

"Well, the thing is." Harry said hesitantly and started fidgeting with his journal. "I think I might have come up with a workable theory on the practice wand we talked about over the summer."

Blaise opened his mouth to ask what the bloody hell he was on about but closed it quickly when Hermione threw him a fierce glare.

Nell set down her tea and looked at him in bewilderment. "Already? We weren't expecting you to figure it out that quickly." When she saw the uncertainty crop up in Harry's eyes she hurried to reassure him. "I'm not saying you haven't figured it out sweetheart, just that it was a rather difficult challenge and the fact that you might have figured out how to accomplish it already is amazing. Why don't you tell us what you have come up with?"

Harry began telling them an abridged version of the explanation he had given Hermione along with how he had gotten started working on the idea for the sake of the rest of the group who didn't know what was going on and became more and more confident as he saw the twin smiles begin to spread across the Flamel's faces the more he explained. When he was finally done, Nell clapped excitedly and looked just as thrilled as Hermione had, if not more so.

"That is very well done Harry." Nick said.

"Oh yes!" Nell beamed. "The idea is absolutely brilliant."

"Thanks." Harry said grinning from ear to ear.

"You really came up with a possible practice wand that underage witches and wizards can use Harry?" Tracey asked from where she sat on the love seat she shared with her two childhood friends.

"I think so. If Nick and Nell can get it to work that is."

"We won't know until we try." Nell said and got up to fetch her own journal and a quill.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

Harry turned to his friend. "You said it yourself Hermione, I don't know a lot about magic. Sure we have learned some spells and theory these past months but nothing about spell creation or enchantments. The agreement was that I come up with the idea and Nick and Nell come up with how to implement it."

As they all nodded their understanding, Nell began writing furiously while speaking out loud at the same time. "So let's see. We'll need to figure out how the wand will store each spell as well as how to differentiate if it was cast correctly. Hmm, I don't think enchantments will do for the spells themselves." She turned to her husband. "Perhaps runes instead?"

Nick tented his fingers and sat back in his chair as his vast knowledge of Ancient Runes ran through his mind and after several moments of intense silence, the beginnings of a rune array that might do the trick began to formulate. "It will take some time but I believe I could make it work."

"What exactly would you be able to do with the runes?"

"Well once the runes have been etched onto the wand, each spell would have to be cast with it and the incantation along with the wand movement will be stored within. The rune array would need to be sealed afterward so that the person using it won't replace the information by mistake. It will be able to determine if the spell was cast correctly but as to causing the tip to light up, that would have to be done separately and preferably with a spell so as not to run the risk of hampering the runes effects."

"Excellent! I think I can handle that part but I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to do much more than allow it to glow green if the spell is cast correctly." Nell said and looked apologetically at Harry.

"That's all right. Even that little bit would be good enough for me." Harry said.

Nell merely nodded and jotted down a few more things before closing her journal and smiling at Harry. "Nick and I will start working on this immediately as well as order some wood for the wands. Once all the kinks are worked out we should be able to have a prototype ready in no time."

"Just one?" Hermione and Daphne asked simultaneously with much disappointment.

Both Flamels laughed as they looked around and saw that all of Harry's friends looked disappointed.

"Well, perhaps we could make a few and have certain individuals test them out as it would help us get better results." Nick said and looked to his wife with a devious smile. "Who do you think we should get to test the wands dear? Perhaps we could ask around and see if anyone is interested."

Nell smothered a laugh as she noticed that the 1st years looked ready to surge to their feet in protest. "Oh I don't know Nicolas. Maybe we could…"

"We'll do it!" Hermione interrupted enthusiastically and everyone shook their heads in agreement.

Nick looked at her in bewilderment. "You guys? Oh but you wouldn't want to do that would you? No no, we had better pick another group."

At hearing that, Hermione actually did leap to her feet to protest but Neville grabbed her arm and pulled her down so he could whisper in her ear. When he let go she looked at the Flamels accusingly. "You were just trying to wind us up."

"Guilty." Nick confessed. "Sorry about that Hermione, we couldn't help ourselves."

"So you'll let us do it?" Blaise asked before Hermione could.

"Of course we will. We will keep you updated on the progress but we would appreciate it if none of you told anyone else what we are working on. We don't know how long it will take and we don't want to be inundated with people wanting to volunteer to test the wands." Nell said.

"What does inundated mean?" Hannah asked.

"Overwhelmed." Hermione answered.

"Precisely." Nell said. "Now why don't you all run along and find something fun to do."

As they all filed out the door Susan piped up. "Oh, we could have another snowball fight!"

"What, so you guys can gang up on us again?" Neville asked.

Harry thought back to the morning, a little over a week ago, when he woke up to a very pleasant frozen lake scene reflected in their enchanted windows and discovered shortly after that the change was due to the now snow covered lawns of Hogwarts' grounds. The excitement of the several feet of snow dwindled quickly though, as they had to walk through the drafty corridors and journey across the icy grounds to get to the greenhouses. This did not however, keep himself and his friends from joining in an impromptu snowball fight started by Fred and George Weasley one day after classes had let out and Harry, Neville, and Blaise soon found themselves ganged up on by the larger group of girls and were utterly defeated in short order.

"Don't be such a sore loser Longbottom." Daphne said and threw her nose in the air. "Just because our strategy was better than yours."

"Some strategy." He muttered but since the girls now seemed bent on having a snowball fight they each made to separate into their respective groups so they could go to their dormitories and bundle up for the freezing cold outside. "This isn't going to end well!"

The other two males agreed with his parting words wholeheartedly but were given no choice as they were nudged and pushed by the girls to hurry up. This wasn't going to end well at all.

OoOoOoO

"Finally." Blaise said as he flopped down onto one of the seats in the compartment they had snagged for the train ride home. "I am so ready for the holidays."

"Tired of us already Blaise?" Tracey asked as she sat to his right and Daphne and Hermione to his left near the window. Harry, Neville, Susan, and Hannah were seated across from them and even though there were eight of them, there was plenty of room for all of them to sit comfortably as the compartment seemed to expand on its own to accommodate them all.

"Quite the contrary, you guys are the only thing that has made staying at Hogwarts bearable."

"We get to learn magic! How could you not like being at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, scandalized.

Blaise looked at her with amusement dancing in his eyes. "Hermione, only you could enjoy all the homework they make us do. I like the classes well enough but just thinking about all of those essays makes my hand hurt."

"Speaking of homework, we really should get it over and done with so we don't have to worry about it while trying to enjoy Christmas." Their bushy haired friend suggested and frowned when all she got was groans in return.

"Let's just enjoy our freedom for a bit first Hermione." Harry said from where he sat directly across from her.

She crossed her arms and huffed. "Fine. What are everyone's plans for the holidays?"

"Well, my parents mentioned going on vacation in one of their letters but Dad couldn't get off work so we will probably spend the majority of it with the Bones' like we usually do." Hannah said and Susan nodded her head in agreement.

"My mum and I are going to Switzerland with her new boyfriend." Blaise said. He saw Daphne and Tracey's look of excitement and with a roll of his eyes cut in before they could even ask. "Yes, I will bring you back some chocolate." They both let out squeals of joy and hugged him so hard he couldn't catch his breath until they finally let go.

"Switzerland is famous for its chocolate." Hermione said wistfully. Her friends had found out early on that she was a closet chocolate addict, which she blamed on her dentist parents for not allowing her to eat sweets when she was younger.

Blaise had already decided to get the girl a large box of assorted chocolates for Christmas but knew that he wouldn't be able to send it to her to open in front of her parents. He had planned on giving her a smaller present for Christmas then surprising her with the box of chocolate on the way back to Hogwarts but now it would be too cruel to make her think she wasn't getting any. "How about I bring you all back some chocolate." He said and turned down all the offers to give him money to pay for it. He didn't really like his mum's new boyfriend, who went out of his way to try and impress her with all the money he threw around, so figured he would at least get something out of him and his willingness to part with his Galleons.

"Gran doesn't really like traveling so we will probably just stay home most of the time, though she did say that the Flamels invited us over on Boxing Day." Neville said once they had all calmed down.

"Really? What about Christmas or do you like to spend it with just the family?"" Harry asked.

Neville shifted uncomfortably before saying. "We have other plans for Christmas."

"What kind of plans?"

"Just plans. I don't really want to talk about it." He replied evasively.

"Oh come on Nev…" Harry tried but was cut off.

"I said I don't want to talk about it!" Neville said angrily and his face had gone completely red. There was silence in the compartment as everyone was startled at the sudden outburst from their quiet friend.

"All right then mate, I was just curious. You don't have to bite my head off." Harry said, somewhat angry himself at his friends outburst though he didn't know why.

"Well I said I didn't want to talk about it. You should have let it go." He argued.

Harry opened his mouth to say something else but Hannah spoke over him. "That's enough you two."

Neither boy responded but turned away from each other and sat in silence. It took a while but the others eventually started up an awkward conversation while the two friends attempted to ignore each other. An hour later, the silent treatment was still going strong when Cedric decided to pay a visit to their compartment and picked up on the tension right away.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" He asked and noticed all eyes turn to Neville and Harry.

"Harry and Neville had a little… tiff and now are refusing to speak to each other." Daphne explained when nobody else said anything.

"Oh, and what seems to be the problem?" He asked and held up a hand when Daphne made to answer. He gave her an apologetic smile and turned back to the boys. "Harry?"

Harry turned startled eyes to him as if just noticing him for the first time and realized that Cedric expected him to answer his question. He took a deep breath and told him what had happened. "We were talking about what we were all going to do over the holidays and when Neville said he had plans for Christmas I tried asking him what kind of plans but he refused to say so I asked again and then he yelled at me for it."

"Is that true Neville? Cedric asked and Neville, who was absentmindedly petting Sage and staring at the floor, merely nodded his head. Cedric sighed and came to sit in between Daphne and Hermione so he was facing both of them. "There really is no reason for you two to be fighting, especially around Christmas time."

"I just wanted to know what my friend was doing for Christmas." Harry said petulantly.

"I get that but it was obvious that Neville didn't want to discuss it and you should have respected his wishes. He may have a very good reason for not telling you that you're not aware of but I'm sure he will tell you when he is ready."

Harry still felt upset that Neville had actually yelled at him but knew that Cedric was right. He bit his lower lip, looked at his friend and saw the hazel blue eyes shift from the floor to him.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you!" Neville blurted out before Harry could apologize and went back to staring at the floor. "It's a family thing and I'm just not ready to talk about it yet."

Harry's shoulders sagged and the anger bled away to guilt for getting mad at his friend since it was obvious that the subject made Neville uncomfortable. "I'm sorry too mate, I shouldn't have pushed."

Neville turned to him and they gave each other uncertain smiles before looking around at their other friends, who looked relieved that the quarrel was over.

"Now that that's done with." Daphne said with a roll of her eyes and turned to Cedric. "What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to check up on you guys."

"Thanks Cedric, I think we'll be fine now." Harry said.

Cedric gave a nod and stood up. "Good, you two are friends and you are bound to have disagreements but remember that good friends are hard to come by and you shouldn't let something so silly come in between that. Now, if I don't see any of you before we reach the platform I hope you all have a Happy Christmas."

A chorus of Happy Christmas followed him out of the compartment and there was another bought of silence, this time due to embarrassment on the two friends part at the stupid argument and they weren't sure what they should talk about now.

Hermione decided to help them out. "So Harry, what are your plans for the holidays?"

"Well Nick and Nell are going to take me to St. Mungo's to visit Sirius the day after tomorrow and Sirius mentioned meeting another one of my parent's friends named Remus Lupin. Other than Neville and Mrs. Longbottom coming over on Boxing Day though, I don't think we have anything else planned." He answered.

"Oh, that will be nice. You finally get to meet your godfather. I still can't believe all that happened to him, the poor man." Hermione said.

"Yeah, I'm kind of nervous to meet him though."

Susan spoke up. "You shouldn't be Harry. From what you said about him from his letters he seems very excited just to be able write to you and I'm sure it will be the same when you meet him."

Harry sighed. "You're right, I just can't help it you know."

"Hey I have an idea." Tracey said into the comfortable silence that followed. "Why don't we try and all get together sometime during the holidays? Blaise, when do you get back from Switzerland?"

"I think the day after Boxing Day."

"That's good. Maybe we could see if our parents will let us meet up for New Years."

"That would be fun but whose house would we go to or were you thinking about meeting at like a restaurant or something?" Hermione asked.

Tracey thought about it for a second. "I think meeting at someone's house would be more fun. We could even make it a sleepover."

Hannah squealed in excitement. "I want to do a sleepover!"

At that point, the girls began talking all at once and making plans for New Years Eve while the boys sat quietly watching them, occasionally answering with a simple yes or no when asked a question as Neville had found out the hard way that that's all they really wanted when asking for their input. They were just getting into ideas on what food they should have when the compartment door opened to reveal the trolly witch.

Things began to settle down after they had eaten their lunch and Hermione finally got them to start working on their homework. It actually helped to pass the time because before they knew it, the train was slowing down as they reached the platform. Goodbyes and hugs were given all around when they finally debarked from the train and went their separate ways.

"Make sure to write me and let me know how the meeting with your godfather goes." Neville said as they made their way to their guardians.

"I will." Harry promised. "He seems pretty funny and outgoing so I'm sure it will be interesting."

"Hello you two. Did you have a nice trip?" Nell asked when they stopped in front of them.

"It was ok. The girls were busy making plans for us all to get together, possibly for New Years, and then Hermione forced us to work on our homework." Harry said.

The Flamels chuckled and Mrs. Longbottom's lips twitched.

"Well at least you won't have to worry about it over Christmas." Nick said.

"And a New Years party does sound like a good idea. Let me know what the girls say and I can get in touch with everyone's parents to see how they would like to go about it if they agree." Nell said.

"It is getting rather late and we should get going." Mrs. Longbottom broke in. "It was nice to see you all again. Do you have everything Neville?"

Neville made sure Sage was secure in his carrier before giving a nod as they made their way to the apparition point. "Bye Harry, I'll see you on Boxing Day."

"Bye Nev, Happy Christmas." Harry said as he took Nick and Nell's hands and Hedwig dug her claws into his shoulder slightly to get a better hold for the jostling ride and with a pop they were gone.

OoOoOoO

Harry walked slightly behind and to the right of Nick and Nell, gripping Gabriel's eagle feather tightly to try and calm himself as he followed them down the 6th floor corridor that led to Sirius' private room at St. Mungo's. He was very nervous about finally meeting his godfather, despite the many letters they had exchanged in the last month, and deciding that the feather wasn't helping he chose to take a stronger hold on his new photo album instead. Nell had let him purchase it with his own money while they were shopping in Diagon Alley for Christmas presents yesterday after she had mentioned that Sirius might enjoy looking through the many pictures he had taken during his first semester at Hogwarts and their Egypt trip. He had spent the entire rest of the day and far into the night picking out which pictures he thought would be best, even going as far as to label each one.

'What if he doesn't like me?' Flashed through his mind for what seemed like the hundredth time in that day alone. 'Are godparents even allowed to dislike their godchildren? What if Sirius dislikes me so much that he decides he doesn't want to be my godfather anymore?'

Similar thoughts continued to whirl around inside the raven haired boy, the inner turmoil causing him to unconsciously slow his pace, but before they could overwhelm him entirely Nick stopped in front of a door and wasted no time in knocking, then pushing it open when an excited greeting for them to enter was heard on the other side.

Harry had to be physically pushed from behind by Nell to get him through the door that Nick was now holding open for them but he planted his feet firmly on the ground when he was finally inside and stood his ground, refusing to move another inch, as he stared at the gaunt man sitting up in the pristine white hospital bed just 6 feet in front of him.

Harry couldn't have known that Sirius had actually filled out quite a bit in the last month or so while under the care of the Healers at St. Mungo's but he was still months away from being declared fully healthy, both physically and mentally. Why, just that morning, he had woken up to a nightmare of epic proportions, but instead of waking violently and finding no solace in the Dementors swarming around the halls of his prison cell, he was shaken awake by his old friend Remus Lupin, who immediately fed him a Calming Draught before sitting down beside him, waiting patiently for Sirius to wipe his tears and get over his embarrassment enough to talk about it.

The truth was, that Sirius had been doing much worse mentally when he first got there than anybody originally thought he would but that all ended when Remus stormed in two weeks after he was admitted, looking more haggard than Sirius had ever seen him from the recent full moon. Once the happy greetings and apologies were out of the way and the Healer informed the shabby looking man about Sirius' lack of progress in actually talking about his problems, Remus wasted no time in whacking him lightly on the back of the head.

"Ow!" Sirius yelped, causing Remus to roll his eyes at his friend's dramatics since they both knew he hadn't hit him hard enough to hurt. "What was that for?"

"Because you're being stubborn and refuse to cooperate with your Healers."

"They want me to talk about my feelings Moony. Feelings are for ninnies!" He said vehemently and glared at his old friend.

"Well that is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard you say, and that is saying something considering. Everybody has feelings Padfoot and you refusing to talk about yours is going to keep you from getting well enough to see your godson any time soon." Remus retorted, unconcerned by Sirius' attitude while the medi-witch checking his vitals backed away slightly, having experienced a few of Sirius' outbursts when he got too upset.

For a moment, it looked like Sirius was going to jump out of his hospital bed and attack but he simply sat there for a long moment, clutching his sheets in a death grip and struggling to overcome the emotions whirling around inside of him. They had been all over the place since things had settled down after the trial and only the Mind Healers had dared try to approach him to calm him down when he got into one of his moods.

Finally, he slumped down in his bed and sighed heavily. "I really do want to see Harry." He admitted and looked at his friend worriedly. "Will you help me Moony? I don't want him to see me like this."

Remus lay a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Of course I will. The first step in overcoming a problem is admitting you have one and while you do have several, I think this one is enough to be getting on with for now. Though I'm not sure we can do anything about that ghastly face of yours in the long run."

"Says you!" Sirius replied in mock anger. "How about your appearance eh? You look like you've been sleeping outside in the street." He had meant it as a joke but he didn't miss the look of shame cross the werewolf's face before it was wiped away and Remus threw another friendly insult at him. Well, Sirius would just have to figure out how to help his old friend without embarrassing him and making it look like charity.

His progress took a leap as Remus came to visit him every day and sat with him as he talked to the Mind Healers about "feelings" and he was overjoyed when Healer Byrne informed him that if he kept up the steady progress, then he could have other visitors come the Christmas holidays.

So here he was, getting his first glimpse of his godson in a little over 10 years and he couldn't believe how much he looked just like a miniature James. He took in the raven hair, the spiffy glasses, and the emerald green eyes that were looking at him in uncertainty, then he noticed the death grip the boy had on what looked to be a photo album and Sirius let a large smile grace his features as he realized that Harry must be just as nervous as he was about this meeting and tried to make him feel more at ease.

Harry gave him a tentative smile in return before taking a cautious step forward. "Hello."

"Hiya Harry! It's good to finally see you in person." Sirius said and beamed as Harry took a few more steps toward him. "You know, you look so much like your dad when he was your age. Except your eyes, you've got your mum's eyes."

Harry's smile grew wider as he took the final steps to reach the bed. "I might have heard that once or twice." He said and jumped slightly when Sirius let out a barking laugh and the man opposite Harry chuckled, catching both of their attention.

"Oh right, Harry this scoundrel here is mine and your parents good friend Remus Lupin. Don't let his appearance fool you, he is really a big softy so feel free to prank him as often as you like. I know I certainly do."

Remus gave his old friend an exasperated look before smiling warmly and holding his hand out to the youngster. "It's very nice to meet you Harry."

"You too Mr. Lupin."

"None of that now. Sirius said that he told you about our little nicknames?" He inquired and Harry nodded. "Then you can call me Remus or Moony, whichever you prefer."

"Thanks Moony." Harry replied, deciding that he liked the soft spoken man already, and turned back to Sirius. "Pranks?"

"Don't tell me you don't do pranks." Sirius asked and looked absolutely horrified when Harry shook his head no. "No pranks? Moony, oh sweet Merlin whatever will we do?" He wailed and practically threw himself at his friend.

Remus pushed him away, grabbed the hands that were clawing at the front of his robes and pinned them lightly to the bed. "Don't be so dramatic Padfoot. This could actually be a good thing." He said and smirked in Harry's direction. "This way we can teach him everything we know from scratch."

"Ha! You're absolutely right." Sirius said and rubbed his now free hands together in anticipation while Nick and Nell exchanged slightly amused, slightly worried looks from where they stood quietly off to the side.

"Your going to teach me how to pull pranks?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Well of course we are! No godson of mine is going to go through life without pulling at least one prank… a month." Sirius declared and looked at Harry with glee. "First rule of being a prankster Harry, never take anything seriously unless absolutely necessary."

Remus coughed slightly, garnering their attention. "I believe the first rule is to always have an alibi."

"Oh rubbish, your rules are so boring Remus." Sirius chided. "No no, it's best if he went by my rules instead, he'll have more fun that way."

Harry looked back and forth between them with a bemused expression. "You each have your own set of rules?"

"Boy do we. We used to argue all the time over them, though James' rules and my rules were pretty similar in nature, Remus' rules are all about not getting caught and planning ahead." He rolled his eyes. "Super boring but I must admit that he was the one that kept us out of trouble more often than not. Always the level headed one he was… and still is."

"What about you." Harry asked.

"Me? Oh I was the wild one, always had to be the center of attention and play the biggest pranks. You're dad was similar when we were younger but as we got older he toned it down somewhat. He refused to admit it but we all know that it was so he could try and get the favorable attention of a certain green eyed girl." Sirius said and waggled his eyebrows playfully in the direction of his godson when he started to laugh. "Peter on the other hand…"

It was like someone had cast a spell on Sirius. One moment he was relaxing in his bed and the next he was sitting up, ramrod straight. His face had morphed into a mask of fury and his eyes had a mad gleam in them. "That filthy traitorous rat!" He yelled and let out what sounded like a deep growl from deep in his throat. "He…"

"Sirius!" Remus snapped with as much authority in his voice as he could muster to bring his friend back to reality.

They had learned early on that even mentioning Peter's name was like a trigger that would sometimes send the man into a rage. Luckily, this episode was much milder than his last, which had resulted in his bedside cabinet being tipped over, shattering the glasses and jug of water that had been sitting on it along with the lamp, a chair flying across the room, and a busted lip for the medi-wizard that had gotten too close. The Healers had ended up having to petrify him and force a Calming Draught down his throat before he came back to himself and started apologizing while also cursing himself for not being able to control himself.

Sirius blinked a few times as if coming out of some sort of trance and looked around him. Remus had a death grip on his shoulder, which for a werewolf was guaranteed to leave a bruise, and Nick and Nell had rushed forward with wands drawn and stepped protectively in front of Harry, who had backed away from the bed when he had started yelling. A medi-witch poked her head into the room to check on her patient after being alerted to his vitals spiking but Remus waved and shook his head to let her know that everything was all right so she backed out again quietly.

"Oh Merlin." He whispered, leaning forward so he could see his godson better. "I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean to lash out like that. I can't help it sometimes and I don't always realize what I'm doing."

Harry stepped around Nick and Nell at seeing the sadness in Sirius' eyes and went back to the bed. "It's all right Sirius."

"It's really not but thank you Harry. I shouldn't have even said his name, I just got caught up in the moment I guess." Sirius said and noticed again the album that he was holding onto. "What's that you got there?"

"It's a photo album. Nell said that you might like to see the pictures that I took over the summer and at Hogwarts so I put them in this in case you did." Harry explained and set the album down on the bed.

"Of course I want to see them." Sirius said picking up the album and tilted it slightly so Remus could see it as well.

He opened it up and the first picture to show was of the Flamels and Harry standing in front of the cottage with the fairies and despite the label beneath letting them know that it was taken right before their trip to Egypt, Harry began telling them all about the picture and how it was the first one with his new camera.

He continued doing this as they flipped through the album and even if the two men had wanted to stop him they wouldn't have dared considering how excited Harry got each time they turned the page to reveal a new picture. It took almost an hour to get through the pictures of the summer and Harry showed no sign of slowing down, especially when he began telling them all about his new friends and classes at Hogwarts.

They had just gotten done looking at the pictures of Harry and his new familiar Jaidynn when they turned the page to reveal a group students in the black and yellow colors of Hufflepuff on one side and Ravenclaw colors on the other. "This is all of the first years in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. I managed to get a picture of all the first years from each house, though Malfoy and his friends gave us a hard time about it until Professor Vector, their Head of House, managed to convince them to do it in the end." Harry explained.

Sirius chuckled at hearing that and turned the page again to show a group wearing Slytherin colors on the left and the red and gold of Gryffindor on the right. He was just about to move on when he caught a slight movement on the shoulder of a red-headed boy that was grinning into the camera. He looked closer and saw a mangy looking rat perched on the boy's shoulder and immediately recognized him.

A deep growl emerged from Sirius' throat as he fought to control his anger. "Pettigrew." He all but snarled.

"What?" Remus asked in surprise and pulled the album towards himself to get a better look. It didn't take him long to see what Sirius had seen and a deep anger swelled inside him as he recognized the rat as well. "I don't believe it."

"He's alive Remus. That filthy traitor has been alive this whole time." Sirius said.

Nick and Nell had come over at that point and Nick asked. "What are you two talking about?"

Remus could see Sirius trying to control his anger so grabbed the album and brought it around the bed so they could see it properly. "Something we never told anybody was that James, Sirius, and Peter learned how to become Animagi in our 5th year. James was a stag, Sirius a black dog, and Peter a rat. We saw him in that form so often we would recognize him anywhere and that rat sitting on the young red-headed boy's shoulder is definitely Peter."

"That's Scabbers." Harry said. "I overheard Ron saying that he had been in the family for years."

"Does Ron have a last name?" Remus asked.

"Weasley."

"The Weasleys huh?"

"This isn't going to be good for them when it gets out that they were harboring a murderer in their home for years and never realized it." Nell said with a look of worry.

"There is nothing we can do about that. We must let Madam Bones know as soon as possible so they can apprehend him." Nick said and turned to Sirius, who had managed to calm down somewhat. "So you are not registered with the Animagus Registry?"

Sirius shook his head. "We figured it would be better during the war if nobody knew that we were Animagi so didn't register and I haven't really had the chance since I got out."

"We will speak to Madam Bones about it. Even if they wanted to charge you, you have already spent more than enough time in prison to cover being an unregistered Animagus so perhaps they will just have you pay the fine instead." Nick said.

Sirius looked somewhat doubtful about that but they needed to let the Ministry know that Peter was alive so paying a small fine was worth it in the end. "Make sure Madam Bones is the only one you tell about him. I figure he went into hiding not just from the law but from the Death Eaters too since he was the last one to see Voldemort alive, so if they find out where he is they may try and capture him themselves before she can get to him."

"Padfoot is right." Remus said. "And that would be bad for the Weasleys as the Death Eaters wouldn't care who they hurt trying to get to him. They would probably consider it a bonus if they hurt or even killed any of them. "

"We will be careful." Nick promised.

Harry stood silently to the side as the adults spoke, not really knowing how to feel. He was angry at hearing that his parent's betrayer was still alive and had been hiding comfortably for years while his godfather suffered in prison but also pleased that the traitor would finally be captured and made to pay for his crimes.

Nell noticed Harry's silence and reached over to run a hand through his hair, causing him to look up at her. "Are you all right sweetheart?"

The others heard her question and all eyes turned to him as he thought about it. "I think so. It's a lot to handle so suddenly but at least he won't get away with it anymore."

"I hope they feed him to the Dementors." Sirius growled and Nell threw him a disapproving look. "What? He deserves it after everything he's done. I would do it myself if I thought Remus would let me escape from here."

"As much as I would like to help you, I think charging into the Weasley home to apprehend Peter would only result in people getting hurt as we both know that he would start firing curses the moment he saw us." Remus said.

Sirius folded his arms in a pout but knew his friend was right, Peter had already demonstrated his willingness to take lives if it meant his escape and Sirius didn't want to put any of the numerous Weasley children in danger.

Harry looked at Remus and voiced a question that had been nagging him since the discovery. "How come you aren't an Animagus Remus?"

The man looked surprised at the question before he began fidgeting uncomfortably. "Well…"

Sirius let out a barking laugh and grinned at him. "I told you you would have to tell him sooner or later Moony. Come on then, he isn't going to mind."

Remus looked at Nick and Nell and was taken aback by the encouraging smiles they gave him since he knew he had never told them and that his friends wouldn't have done so. It took him a second to remember their advanced age and that they probably figured it out based on his behavior from when he knew them from the war. He turned back to Harry and smiled slightly at the curiosity burning in the emerald green eyes. "Well you see Harry, I'm a werewolf so I don't actually have an Animagus form."

That was surprising to Harry. He hadn't read a lot about werewolves but what he had read made them sound ferocious and mean, the complete opposite of how Remus seemed to be. It was obvious that the man was uncomfortable telling him and it dawned on Harry that he was embarrassed and worried about his reaction. "So you turn into a wolf once a month?"

Remus nodded his head. "Yes, I can't control the transformation like Animagi can but werewolves aren't really a danger to other animals unless provoked so your dad, Sirius, and Peter studied to become Animagi once they figured out what I was so that they could keep me company every full moon."

Hearing that made Harry very proud of his father and godfather. He threw a grin at Sirius before turning back to Remus. "Well, Nick and Nell promised to help teach me how to become an Animagus but they are making me wait until after Christmas so I could get used to school and everything. Maybe once I learn, both Sirius and I could keep you company."

Remus wasn't sure why he had expected any less from the son of one of his best friends and he cleared his throat. "I would like that very much Harry."

"You know Remus, since I started at Hogwarts I have only been brewing simple potions with my students and the few clients that I kept. I have been looking for a more complex potion to brew and I think the Wolfesbane Potion would be just the thing I've been looking for, though I would need someone to use what I make so it doesn't go to waste. Would you be willing to help me out?" Nick asked as nonchalantly as he could. He knew how much the man disliked any thought of charity.

"I couldn't do that Nick, the ingredients for the potion are very expensive and I couldn't afford to buy it from you."

"Come now, I wouldn't allow you to buy it from me even if you did have the money. I think we could be considered friends and friends help each other out don't they?"

When Remus didn't answer right away Sirius intervened. "Oh come on Moony, it's a great offer and you know it. Besides, you convinced me to live at my parent's old place once I get out of here and I'll be damned if I'm going to live there by myself. I want to be sure that your not going to go on a rampage through my ancestral home one full moon, no matter how amusing it would be to watch it."

Remus knew full well that Sirius was trying to manipulate him and had already fallen for it once when Sirius asked him to take a look into the state of his home at Grimmauld Place. His first trip had resulted in him being attacked by the crazy house-elf that was supposed to be taking care of it and Sirius had to call the elf to him to command him not to harm any of his visitors in any way. The second trip revealed that Kreacher had not in fact kept the house up at all in the 6 years since Walburga Black had died and when he informed Sirius of the state the house was in his friend immediately offered him the job of clearing out the house for him since Remus was the only one he trusted not to steal his things.

Sirius was being much more forceful this time around but Remus realized that the offer really was too good to pass up. "Very well, I would appreciate it very much Nick. Thank you for the offer."

"You're welcome." Nick replied. "Now I think we should be going so we can inform Madam Bones of our discovery."

"Yes, the sooner we get that done the better. We will be sure to come and visit again on Christmas day." Nell said and stepped forward to give each man a brief hug.

"Excellent, I can't wait. Oh and tell Madam Bones to inform the Weasleys that I will reimburse them for the loss of their pet rat with any animal Ron Weasley chooses." Sirius said and grabbed Harry for a hug once Nell pulled away.

"I'll be sure to do that." Nell promised.

"Be ready for your presents on Christmas." Harry said as he let Sirius go and hugged Remus as well.

"You don't have to do that Harry." Remus said smiling.

"I know but I want to." The raven-haired boy replied and picked his album up.

"Well, expect presents of your own when you get here and have fun on your holiday."

Nick shook both men's hands and began to lead the way out of the room. Harry turned as they got to the door and waved goodbye to them, getting enthusiastic waves in return.

"Well, that went quite well don't you think?" Remus asked as he sat down in the chair next to the bed that was now permanently reserved for him.

"Yeah, he's a great kid." Sirius replied and lay his head down on his pillows. As wonderful as it was to see his godson again, the emotional upheaval that the visit had brought had worn him out and he was asleep within moments.

As Sirius' soft snores filled the room, Remus smiled and picked up the book he had been reading on and off while staying with his old friend. He was tired as well but was used to the symptoms that came before each full moon and hadn't wanted to miss the visit with Harry. There were still a few hours left to him before he would have to leave to get ready for his transformation that night and though it wouldn't help him today, he was looking forward to the Wolfsbane Potion in the future.


	13. Operation Ho Ho Ho

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Harry presents his idea on a practice wand that underage witches and wizards would be able to use without breaking the Statute of Secrecy or the Underage Magic law. The students of Hogwarts head home on the Express for the Christmas holidays and Harry finally gets to meet his godfather but the trip is somewhat darkened due to Sirius and Remus finding out that Peter Pettigrew is still alive.

* * *

Arthur Weasley was slightly nervous as he made his way from his small office to the office of his boss, Amelia Bones. He had gotten a notice just moments before informing him that he was expected to come see her with all due haste and his mind immediately jumped to all different kinds of scenarios on why she would have summoned him, naturally focusing on the worst. Oh Merlin, how could he tell Molly and the kids if he got fired, especially right before Christmas?

Arthur had nearly worked himself into a frenzy by the time he finally reached the door that led to Madam Bones' office and had to steady himself before raising a hand to knock. "Enter" was immediately barked from the other side and he opened the door to reveal his boss sitting behind her desk and looking at him with a very serious expression. There was something different about her and it took him a moment to realize that her ever present monocle was currently hanging by its chain instead of secured on her right eye like it normally was.

"Come in Mr. Weasley and please shut the door behind you." She instructed and as soon as he did she raised her wand and cast several charms to secure the door and ensure that nobody could listen in or enter without her say so.

"Umm, you're note said there was something you wished to discuss with me Madam Bones?" Arthur asked hesitantly, startled by her behavior and getting even more nervous as he heard the door squelch behind him with a sealing charm.

"Yes, please have a seat." She waited until he was comfortable and then jumped right in. "Mr. Weasley, what can you tell me about Scabbers?"

That took him by surprise and his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "My son's pet rat?"

"Yes."

As confusing as the random question was, Arthur realized that there would be no elaboration on it so answered. "Well, my son Percy found him in our garden when he was younger and because we don't really have the money to buy the kids pets, Molly and I decided to let him keep it when he asked. When he was made prefect this year we bought him an owl as a reward and he passed Scabbers down to our youngest son Ron."

"How long ago did your son find Scabbers?"

Arthur ran a hand through his thinning hair as he thought about it. "I believe it was about 10 or so years ago, possibly during November or December. It was cold outside and Percy brought him in when he found him as he didn't want him to freeze to death."

Amelia raised an eyebrow at that. "So, shortly after the death of the Potters?"

That was certainly a strange way of putting it, as if this entire conversation weren't strange to begin with, but Arthur answered anyway. "Yes, I suppose it was."

"I see." Was her only reply as she looked at her desk and opened a folder. She had been livid when Mr. Flamel had come in with a picture of the Hogwarts Gryffindor first years and told her that the rat in the photo was in fact the Animagus form of Peter Pettigrew and how they had found out about him. She had immediately gone to St. Mungo's to interview Sirius Black and Remus Lupin herself, threatening them with everything she could think of short of a stay in Azkaban if they were playing some sort of prank. She left satisfied that they were telling the truth as well as with a filled out Animagus Registration form for Mr. Black.

"Madam Bones, may I ask why you're asking me about my son's rat?" Arthur asked as she pulled the photograph from the folder.

"Before I do, could you please look at this photo and confirm whether the rat in this picture is Scabbers?" Amelia said and handed it over.

Arthur took it and smiled when he saw his son's beaming face as he stood amongst his fellow Gryffindor first years. "Yes, that's Scabbers."

Amelia took the photo back and placed it in the folder again before giving Arthur a grave look. "Mr. Weasley, what I am about to tell you must not under any circumstances leave this room. If you breath a word of this conversation to anyone outside of this office before I give you the ok to do so, you will find yourself out of a job faster than you can say Stupify. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Y…yes Madam Bones, you have my word." Arthur replied in bewilderment.

"Good. Now, you know all about the fiasco with Sirius Black and how it was Peter Pettigrew and not Mr. Black that betrayed the Potters and killed all of those Muggles correct?"

"Of course, Molly has been sending Sirius care packages every so often while he has been in St. Mungo's."

Amelia actually cracked a smile at hearing that. Molly Weasley's cooking was legendary around the floor as she often sent sweets for Arthur to share with his co-workers, the frequency with which she did so increasing as her children started to leave home and there weren't as many mouths to feed during their stay at Hogwarts. "Glad to hear it. This next bit is where things get rather complicated I'm afraid. You see, I received a visit earlier from a concerned citizen who provided me with this photo and some very surprising information to go along with it."

"And Scabbers has something to do with this?"

"He has everything to do with it. They informed me that they believe that Peter Pettigrew is alive, is actually an Animagus, and has been masquerading as your family pet in order to hide from the law and the Death Eaters." Amelia said.

Arthur sat in stunned silence upon hearing this. Madam Bones believed that the pet rat that had been living with him and his family for the past 10 years was actually a mass murderer? But how could that be? The only strange thing about Scabbers was that he had lived far longer than any normal rat would have ever lived… which actually made sense if he were an Animagus, now that he thought about it.

Then instances he hadn't really given much thought to at the time bounced up and slapped him in the face. Walking into a room and finding Scabbers sitting on top of a copy of the Daily Prophet with his head moving slightly back and forth as if he were reading it, only for him to scurry to the side and immediately begin chewing on the corners when he realized someone was watching or finding him hidden under a chair or around a corner whenever they would have former Order members visiting when Arthur knew for a fact that Percy had taken him upstairs with him to go to bed.

'Oh Merlin! My children have shared a home with a murderer for ten years.' Arthur thought and went deathly pale. "I think I'm going to be sick." He said out loud.

Amelia got up and poured them both a cup of tea, putting two sugars with a dash of milk into Arthur's, and handed his to him as she went to sit back down with her own.

Arthur didn't need to wonder how the Head of the DMLE knew how he liked his tea and took a large swallow instead, burning his tongue slightly. "Thank you. I don't understand how something like this could happen."

"Like I said, he is most likely hiding from both us and the Death Eaters and wanted to stay with a wizarding family so he could keep tabs on what was going on in the world. He probably chose yours since you are somewhat close to Dumbledore and your family is large enough that you had enough to be going on with than pay any attention to your son's pet rat. Quite smart of him actually."

"What are we going to do? I couldn't stand him being anywhere near my family now that I know." Arthur said.

"That is actually why I brought you here to tell you rather than storm into your house with several of my most trusted Aurors. Given his history so far, it's entirely possible that the moment he saw us he would transform back and start casting curses left and right, putting your family at risk. I would like to avoid that if at all possible." Amelia answered.

Arthur took another gulp of tea. "I would as well. Do you have a plan then?"

"Of course. Though you are not an Auror, I know very well that you are able to handle yourself under pressure and could probably pass Auror training if you ever chose to change careers." Amelia was of course referring to his time spent with the Order of the Phoenix during the war. "Therefore, I would like you to help us capture the rat so that we may be sure that it is Pettigrew and, if it is, prosecute him to the full extent of the law."

"You want me to do it?"

"I didn't come to this decision lightly Mr. Weasley. Using Polyjuice did spring to mind but I was not confident that I or any of my Aurors would be able to pose as you well enough not to make Mrs. Weasley, and therefore Pettigrew, suspicious and I have already told you what would likely transpire were we to attempt to raid your home. I believe it would be much easier if you were to go home and act as normally as you can while waiting for a chance to stun the rat while a squad of Aurors and myself wait outside."

Images of all the things that could go wrong should he mess up the opportunity to catch Pettigrew flashed through Arthur's mind. Amelia was right though, Molly would most likely sense something amiss right away if one of the Aurors tried to pose as him and he couldn't think of any other way that they could go about this. "I guess I don't have any choice. I don't want that man anywhere near my family for any longer than is necessary."

"Good man." Amelia nodded approvingly. "The way I see it, the easiest way to do this would be for you to simply wait and go home at your regular time, since it's nearly the end of the work day that shouldn't be too bad. When you get home be sure to act as normally as possible and keep an eye on the rat without making it too obvious that you're doing so. Figuring out the best time to stun him will be difficult but it would be better to wait until he is easily in the open then find an excuse to pull your wand and quickly stun him. Do you think you would be able to do that?"

"I think so." Arthur replied nervously. She made it sound so easy.

"Once you stun him, make sure your family does not touch him, and come outside to let us know as quickly as possible. Like I said, we will be surrounding your house and waiting under disillusionment so all you have to do is raise your wand in the air to let us know it's ok for us to come in and retrieve him."

"What if I mess up and he is able to transform before I stun him."

"If that should happen, shoot off red sparks towards one of the windows and try to defend your family as best you can. Once we see the sparks we will immediately come in to help while also setting up anti-apparition and portkey wards so he can't escape." Amelia desperately hoped that nothing like that would be necessary as there would be absolute chaos inside the house with all the children and she certainly didn't want any of them harmed.

Arthur nodded but still looked unsure about the whole thing.

"If you don't feel comfortable with this method then we can try and think of another way but it must be before you leave for the day."

Arthur thought of his children and the danger they could be in were anything to go wrong but sat up straighter with a determined look on his face. "I'm willing to try Madam Bones. I'd do anything to protect my family."

"I don't doubt it Mr. Weasley and thank you for agreeing to do this. Despite the fact that you couldn't have known that Pettigrew was hiding with you, there will more than likely be a lot of blow back from this. Hopefully, you assisting with his capture will help stem much of it. Mr. Black has even volunteered to replace your son's pet with any of his choosing."

"Sirius? What does he have to do with it?"

"He is the one that recognized Pettigrew while looking at photographs his godson had taken while he was at Hogwarts."

"Oh." Was all Arthur could find to say to that.

After going over the plan to make sure Arthur knew what he needed to do and trying to think of different scenarios that would allow Arthur to pull his wand and not make Pettigrew suspicious, he was finally dismissed and allowed to go back to his office. The last 45 minutes of work went agonizingly slow for him but it gave him a chance to settle down and try to think of excuses should Molly find anything wrong with him.

Arthur took a deep breath as he stood before one of the many floo stations in the main lobby of the Ministry, trying to calm his racing heart. He knew that Madam Bones and her Aurors had already left to take up stations around his home but that fact did not comfort him one bit. Deciding to just get it over with as soon as possible, he stepped into the fireplace and yelled, "The Burrow!" and then in a softer voice so nobody could hear, he spoke the password that would allow him through to his home, "Mollywobbles."

He closed his eyes and endured the nauseating journey and just as he stopped spinning, planted his left foot firmly on the ground to keep himself from spinning any further and pushed off a bit to steady himself. This was done in just a few seconds and when he got his bearings back Arthur opened his mouth and shouted out, "I'm home," with as normal and chipper a voice as he could manage.

Molly came bustling out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron, and gave him a kiss in greeting. "You're just in time for dinner dear. Why don't you go and freshen up and I'll have the table set by the time you get back down. Oh, can you let Fred, George, Percy and Ginny know to come down as well? Ron is already waiting at the table of course." She said as she began to make her way back through the door.

As Arthur made to answer however, she stopped and turned back to him with a look of concern. "Are you all right Arthur? You look a tad gray."

Reassuring himself that he would be able to tell Molly the truth soon enough, Arthur lied to his wife. "I'm fine, we just had a man today that lost 3 of his toes due to some jinxed shoes. Not the prettiest site I've ever seen."

"You poor dear." She said with concern lacing her voice. "Well my stew should help put some color back in your cheeks and I'm sure a glass of Firewhiskey wouldn't go amiss later tonight."

Arthur managed a smile and pecked her on the cheek. "You are quite right Molly. I shall be down in a bit." He said and began making his way up the stairs.

The first room he came to was of course Ginny's and he knocked softly on the partially open door. His only daughter stopped humming and looked up from the magazine she had been reading. "Dad!" She squealed and rolled off the bed, ran to him, and jumped into his waiting arms.

"Oomph." He grunted when he felt his back straining as he lifted her up to give her a hug. "I think you are starting to get too big for me to be able to do that for much longer Ginny."

She simply giggled and gave him a hug in return.

"Dinners about ready. Why don't you go help your mum set the table?" He said, setting her down.

"Ok." She replied happily and bounded down the stairs.

Arthur made his way further up the stairs, stopped on the second floor landing and, ignoring the keep out sign hanging on the closed door, knocked loudly. He heard hurried whispers on the other side and what sounded like furniture being moved back and forth before the door was finally pulled open a crack and a brown eye peeked through.

"Hullo Dad. What can we do for you?" Fred asked and opened the door farther so Arthur could see George sitting on his bed with a book open on his lap.

"Dinner is almost ready." He said and grinned. "Also, I would recommend finding a better spot than under George's bed for whatever you are trying to hide from your mother. It's a tad obvious don't you think?"

Fred and George looked at each other before breaking out in twin grins of their own.

"Right you are old chap." George said standing up and tossing the book onto his brother's bed.

"We'll be sure to find a better spot once we get back up here." Fred said and they both clapped him on the shoulder as they made their way past him and down the stairs.

"I don't know why you encourage them Dad." Percy said from behind him where he was standing in the doorway of his own bedroom.

Arthur smiled at his 3rd eldest son and said. "They are quite brilliant when they put their minds to it and their experiments are mostly harmless. I always believed it's better not to stifle my children's creativity as long as they don't deliberately harm anyone."

Percy sniffed his disapproval of his father's views on the matter but kept silent and made his way down to the kitchen.

Shaking his head and chuckling to himself, Arther finally made it to their bedroom on the 4th floor, freshened up, and was stepping through the door of the kitchen a few minutes later. He was doing good so far he thought as he pulled out his chair at the head of the table, sat down, and absorbed the chaos that was the norm for most of the Weasley family meals.

Fred and George were sitting on the left side of the table with Percy and Fred was continuously moving bowls, plates, cups, and utensils into Percy's space while whispering to his twin conspiratorially and throwing expectant glances in Ron's direction. Percy, who was attempting to disperse the small pile of dishes that had accumulated in front of him before it fell to the floor, hastily reached across the table and snatched the Hiccough Sweet that Ron was about to put in his mouth out of his hand and started arguing furiously with the twins when they tried to take it back. Ron looked angrily at his older brother for taking his sweet before realizing that Percy had just saved him from the painful experience of hiccoughing uncontrollably while trying to eat hot stew and folded his hands across his chest so as not to be tempted to eat anything else before dinner started. This was made difficult when Ginny ran over with a basket of fresh buns that she set on the table before snatching one up, breaking off a piece, and popping it into her mouth. She moved the basket out of Ron's reach when she saw him looking at it, poked her tongue out at him, and went to sit down to Arthur's right.

The delight Arthur usually felt at the mayhem surrounding him dwindled significantly when he saw the head of Scabbers peaking out of Ron's pocket. He knew he couldn't get to him safely yet but that didn't stop Arthur wanting to reach over and snatch the rat up, if only to get him away from his children. He was broken out of his thoughts when Molly came over and set the large pot of stew down in the middle of the table.

Dinner progressed normally after that, though Arthur knew he was a little too quiet if Molly's concerned glances were anything to go by, and he felt the time finally come when everybody had finished dessert and Molly stood to start cleaning up the table. Arthur would occasionally help her levitate the dishes and such into the kitchen so was not worried about looking suspicious when he also stood, pulling his wand.

Scabbers, as was the norm, had migrated to the table top when dinner was almost done to snatch up any scraps that the kids was willing to give him and hadn't budged from his position on Ron's left all through dessert.

Arthur raised his wand as if to cast the levitation spell but instead, jabbed the wand straight at Scabbers and yelled. "Stupefy!" To Arthur's dismay, the jet of red light streaked straight towards the rat but hit Ron's hand instead as he reached over to pick Scabbers up.

Ron's body went limp and he fell to the floor amongst astonished cries from his siblings and mother while Scabbers jumped off the table and ran for the living room.

"Arthur, what are you doing?" Molly cried as she made to go to her unconscious son.

Arthur set off red sparks directly at the window facing the front lawn before running after Pettigrew and shouting over his shoulder. "Keep the children in here Molly and keep your wand out and ready to defend."

Upon crossing the threshold into the living room Arthur saw that Pettigrew had transformed back into his human form and was pointing his wand straight at him. Not knowing what spell Pettigrew was about to use and unwilling to let it go through the door where his family was, Arthur stood his ground and hastily threw up a shield as a fiery orange light came streaking towards him. The spell hit his shield and ricocheted off to the right, hitting the stairs and causing a large explosion that obliterated half the staircase and parts of the wall.

Pettigrew stumbled backwards a bit as large pieces of debris pelted him and Arthur, ignoring the stings and cuts he received from the same, attempted to disarm him but his spell missed when Pettigrew tripped over one of the many small tables scattered about the living room and nearly fell. The small mousy looking man raised his wand to cast another spell but before he could, the front door was blasted open and Amelia Bones, followed closely by the towering figures that were Kingsley Shacklebolt and Rufus Scrimgeor. They zeroed in on Pettigrew instantly and all three raised their wands.

Pettigrew hurriedly cast a purple looking curse at the three but it was successfully blocked by Shacklebolt while Bones and Scrimgeor began casting both disarming and stunning spells at the fugitive. Due to the small living room and numerous couches, chairs, and tables crammed into it, Pettigrew had very little space in order to dodge the barrage that was directed at him and before he could decide whether he would be better off transforming again to try and escape, he was overwhelmed and finally brought down when bolts of red light hit him in the face and leg.

When Arthur saw that the Aurors had everything under control, he spun around and raced back towards the kitchen shouting, "Sugar mice!" just before storming back through the doorway. Thankfully, Molly recognized their old safety password that let the other know it was them and all was safe.

"Is everyone all right?" He asked, looking around.

Recognizing the tone in her husband's voice when he had run out of the room, Molly had immediately woken Ron and herded the children to the side of the table nearest the wall then flipped it onto its side so they could hide behind it, causing the food and dishes she never got a chance to clean up, slide to the floor with a crash. The explosion that came from the other side of the wall startled them all and they waited with bated breath as the house shook from the impact, causing dust to fall from the ceiling, and finally steady itself again.

Molly looked at her children to make sure they were properly hidden and smiled proudly when she caught site of Percy kneeling farther down behind the table with his wand drawn and a determined look plastered on his face. Ginny was clinging to his side, white as a sheet, and he had his free arm protectively around her. The twins also had their wands out but were slightly distracted by the questions coming from Ron, who was wondering what was going on. Molly so wanted to go help her husband but knew that if anything happened to him that she might need to defend the kids from whoever it was that he was fighting.

Sooner than she expected, the fighting stopped and there was silence beyond the doorway. She kept everyone down when they made to get up and heard footsteps starting towards the kitchen. Molly raised her wand to fire a curse over the top of the table but stopped herself as she heard Arthur's voice shouting the safety password she hadn't heard him use since the war.

Arthur watched as everyone emerged shakily from behind the large table, looking to see if anybody had been injured. Upon seeing him, Ginny let out a cry and ran towards him with tears spilling down her face. Arthur picked her up when she got to him and the little red-head immediately locked her arms and legs around him in a death grip while the rest of his family made their way over as well.

"Arthur what is going on?" Molly asked with worry and not a little bit of anger.

"Perhaps it would be best if I answered that for you Mrs. Weasley." Amelia said as she stepped through into the cramped and messy kitchen.

"Madam Bones? You certainly got here quickly." Molly said in bewilderment.

"As it so happens, I was already here." Amelia said and explained the situation to the astonished family. "There was some spell damage to your living room and your staircase took a beating but once we are done gathering evidence and taking pictures we can assist you in repairing everything."

"Peter Pettigrew?" Molly asked horrified.

"I'm afraid so. But he is now in our custody and will soon stand trial for his crimes. I would like to ask you and your family not to say anything about this though until I am able to make a public statement. I believe it will be best, especially for you, as it will give me a chance to explain to everyone the part that your husband played in helping to capture Pettigrew." Amelia said.

Molly hardly heard anything she said though, being so focused on one point in particular. "Peter Pettigrew has been under our roof for the past 10 years? Sleeping in the same room as my children?"

At that realization, Ron and Percy looked absolutely green and both gulped audibly as if they were trying to keep down their dinner.

Amelia managed to get a promise from each of the Weasleys that they wouldn't breath a word of what happened until the story broke in the Phrophet as well as each of their statements before she made her way back into the living room to see how much longer her Aurors would be, leaving the family of red-heads to converse amongst each other.

"I am sorry I hit you with my stunner Ron." Arthur said and placed a hand on his son's head. "I was obviously trying to hit Pettigrew but you and I seemed to have had the worst timing. I am just glad everyone is all right."

"All right?!" Ron shouted, near hysterics. "I let a murderer sleep in the same bed as me!"

Seeing her son going into a panic, Molly hurried over to one of the kitchen drawers and pulled it open, revealing numerous potion vials of different sizes filled with an assortment of different colors and painstakingly labeled, laying neatly organized within. She had begun keeping the potions she used most often in drawers all over the house in case she and Arthur or the children needed them, making sure to inspect them and replace them with a new batch whenever one expired.

It didn't take long for Molly to find what she was looking for and she was soon back at her youngest son's side. She opened the small vial of light pearl blue liquid and held it out to Ron, who took it without question and downed it in one gulp. It took only a few seconds for the Calming Draught to take effect and Ron gave a content sigh as his eyes glazed over slightly.

Arthur went about straightening up the kitchen while Molly made sure that the rest of their kids were doing ok, especially Percy since he had yet to regain his normal complexion since Madame Bones had spoken to them. Ginny still refused to let go of him however and Arthur's back was seriously beginning to creak and groan as he cast spells this way and that to get everything cleaned up.

Just as he finished and finally convinced Ginny to get down, Madam Bones walked back in to let them know that they were done gathering evidence and that Auror Shaklebolt would remain to assist him in repairing his home. Arthur followed her through the doorway back into the living room and walked over to Kingsley, who was standing patiently near the broken staircase, as she walked out the door.

Repairing the wall and stairs took no time at all with both men working together and only a few more minutes for Arthur to set the living room to rights. Kinglsey left shortly after they finished with an invitation to dinner sometime in the near future to look forward to. He may be a great Auror but Kinglsey would be the first to admit that his cooking skills left much to be desired and the only times he could get a decent meal was if he went out to a pub or restaurant. Having lost his parents shortly after the war, it had been ages since the bachelor had had a nice home cooked meal.

* * *

 **A/N:** Soooo… I made a boo boo. I absolutely 100% forgot that the Weasley parents and Ginny went to Romania for Christmas and the others had to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays. I only realized my mistake after I had completed writing the whole chapter D: and rather than come up with a different method of catching Pettigrew and making you guys wait even longer, we are just going to pretend that Molly and Arthur decided to save money and not go to Romania after all. Maybe they can use that money to get Ron his own wand instead, since I'm sure a trip to Romania costs much more than 7 Galleons ;P

 **A/N 2:** This chapter is a bit shorter than most both because it's so hard for me to be able to type it up on my computer at the moment and because it would have been super duper long if I had continued on with the rest of the Christmas stuff I have planned. So now Christmas is going to be three chapters, which are mostly written and hopefully go up a little faster than this last one.


	14. A Taste of Christmas

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Arthur Weasley gets a surprise when he is summoned to Madam Bones' office and told that his son's pet rat, that has been living with his family for years, is none other than mass murderer Peter Pettigrew. Not wanting the foul man anywhere near his family, Arthur accepts the task of capturing Pettigrew and, though Peter puts up a fight, Arthur and the Aurors manage to bring him down in the end.

* * *

Harry woke on Christmas morning to Alcmene kneading her claws gently on his chest and Hedwig's soft hoots from where she sat on her perch next to the window. It took him longer than necessary to remember what day it was and he actually needed some help from his familiar by way of an image of the Christmas tree in the living room with all of the festively wrapped gifts underneath to remember that he actually had presents to open this year.

That was a new experience for him, like so many others, and it had taken him forever to actually fall asleep the night before since he was so eager for it to be Christmas morning. On top of that was the thrill of actually getting presents for his friends and new family, though he admitted to being quite nervous about the whole affair at first since the only person that he had chosen a present for all on his own had been Susan's birthday present at the beginning of December. But once Nick and Nell had taken him to Diagon Alley and let him get gold from his vault so he could buy the presents himself, he had tackled the task with ferocity, and admittedly got assistance from both adults when he wasn't sure what to get.

He stroked Alcmene's fur absentmindedly as he thought of all the things he had gotten his friends and, not for the first time, wondered if they would like them. Hermione had gotten a journal that was guaranteed to contain enough pages to last even the most avid note taker 5 years before needing replacing and came with a 5 year homework planner as well. Neville received a special carrying case with 50 storage areas that could house a variety of different plant seeds as Neville had said that he wanted to start collecting for when he gained his Mastery and started his own business growing plants and supplying ingredients to the masses.

He had chosen an assortment of metallic silver animal shaped hair pins that could change color with the tap of a wand for Daphne as she seemed to enjoy 'accessories' like that, or at least he was pretty sure that's what she called them when he overheard her and Tracey talking about it. Blaise had gotten a pair of enchanted monogramed gloves made from the hide of a Hungarian Horntail that kept the hands of the wearer warm no matter how cold it was since Blaise was well known for complaining at every opportunity about how cold and drafty the castle could be. Tracey had been the easiest of the group of Slytherins since, despite seeing them every day, she enjoyed randomly writing small letters to all of them throughout the week and Harry hadn't been the least bit surprised to see that this extended to over the holidays as well. With this in mind, he had picked out a stationary set that came with a large stack of lavender colored parchment embossed with butterflies around the edges, an eagle feather quill, and 3 bottles of different colored inks, thinking that since she enjoyed writing so much it might as well be on something she thought was pretty.

Hannah had been rather easy to buy for as well since early on in his shopping spree, he had come by a human anatomy puzzle kit that she could put together, starting with bones and then from there to joints, muscles, and organs. It also came with a book that had detailed information for each step and reportedly could take months to put together depending on how thorough one wanted to be. Susan had complained to him a few times that since the Hufflepuff dormitories were underground, she never got to hear birds singing outside her window like she used to at home so he had gotten her an enchanted statue of a bluejay that could be programmed to sing in the mornings or could randomly be turned off and on if you tapped its beak with your wand.

Luna had been the most difficult to find something for despite the fact that she seemed to enjoy everything life had to offer. He had stayed in touch with the quirky girl all through his first semester and enjoyed the letters she sent him as she tended to draw pictures to cover the parchment, then write over the drawings and he enjoyed looking at the wide variety of topics she chose to draw. She also seemed to have a knack for knowing exactly what he needed to hear at any given time. She was the only one who he hadn't sent her present via Hedwig because she had somehow coerced him into inviting her and her father over for lunch later today so she could give him his present in person. He had finally settled on getting her a brand new paint set which came with self cleaning brushes, an easel that could change sizes depending on the size of the canvas, tubes of both oil and acrylic paint, and a self cleaning palette.

Though Ginny had almost stopped writing to him entirely after the first month of school, Nell saying that she was most likely embarrassed for reasons Harry couldn't fathom, he had gotten her a small wooden lock box engraved with her name in gold on the side that had an image of a horse running across the top. She had mentioned a few times how nice it was to have her brothers out of the house so they couldn't sneak into her room and rummage through her things. The lock box would only allow her to open it and could be used to store trinkets, jewelry, or anything else Ginny felt she didn't want her brothers to find.

Other than getting Cedric a monogramed Quidditch armor set and Hagrid a miniature animated Hebridean Black dragon model, enlarged slightly to fit the large man, Harry had settled for getting the rest of his friends sweets so that nobody would feel left out. He had realized how much he was spending on presents about halfway through but reasoned with himself that other than birthdays, this was a once a year thing and with Nick and Nell paying for everything else he had nothing else to spend his money on.

It took another hoot from Hedwig to pull him from his musings and remind him again why he had been anticipating this day. With a smile, he gently removed Alcmene's claws from his shirt and moved her to the side so he could crawl out of bed and hurriedly brush his teeth and go to the bathroom.

Hedwig was perched on his shoulder as he made his way into the living room and he noticed that Nick and Nell were all ready sitting on the couch talking softly to each other and drinking hot chocolate while waiting for him. Nell saw him first and she stood to give him a hug as he made his way over. "Happy Christmas Harry." She beamed.

"Happy Christmas!" He responded excitedly, basking in the love and attention he only ever got to watch his Aunt and Uncle lavish on his cousin.

He repeated the process with Nick before they all sat down near the tree, Hedwig settling on the back of Harry's chair to watch.

"So Harry, would you like to play Santa and pass out the presents or would you rather one of us do it?" Nick asked with a smile.

Harry jumped up and practically shouted, "I'll do it!"

"Very good." The old Alchemist replied and waved his wand over Harry, transfiguring his pyjamas into a Santa suite and conjuring a hat, beard, and black buckled boots to go with it.

Harry couldn't stop laughing as Nell snapped his picture and then he made his way over and grabbed three presents, one for each of them, and passed Nick and Nell theirs before sitting down to open his own. He continued this process for nearly half an hour before all of the opened presents were spread about the living room, Harry's pile being much bigger than his guardian's.

Nell waved her wand and all of the wrapping paper disappeared off of the floor, couch, and chairs where it had ended up and Harry let out a content sigh as he sat back with his own mug of hot chocolate and gazed at his presents. There was a large pile of new winter and summer clothes from Nick and Nell along with an assortment of wizarding games; including a large pack of exploding snap cards, a new gobstones set, and his own chess set. He was pretty new to chess but Nick enjoyed playing it and was currently teaching him the basics. They had also gotten him some new books including; Finding and Conquering Your Animagus: Volume 1, Basic Hexes for the Busy and Vexed, and The Absolutely Complete Compendium of Magical Brazil. Though they refused to tell him why they had given him the last one he figured he would enjoy it just as much as he had his Egypt version.

Hermione had gotten him a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages and a box of chocolate frogs while Neville sent him a deluxe Broomstick Servicing Kit. He had received a black cashmere cloak with gold trimmings that had water-repelling charms on it and was spelled to keep him warm or cool, depending on the weather, from Cedric as well as a hand carved wooden flute from Hagrid. Blaise, Daphne, and Tracey had gotten together to get him his own monogrammed Quidditch armor set and Hannah and Susan had given him a set of quills that would actually assist him with bettering his penmanship the more he wrote with them.

He had put on the emerald green jumper that Mrs. Weasley had sent him after Nick had transfigured his pyjamas back to normal and was munching on the Ginger Newts that Ginny had made him when Hedwig started preening his hair. Harry jumped up in alarm, causing a disgruntled bark from his familiar. "I forgot to give Hedwig her present!" He shouted and ran to the tree where he had set her, Jaidynn, Sirius, Remus, and Luna's presents to the side.

He walked back over to the snowy owl holding a small box wrapped in white paper with silver snowflakes moving around as if blown by an unseen wind and held it out to her. "Here you go Hed, this is for you."

Hedwig gave a happy bark and began clawing at the paper with her talons and beak until it came loose. Harry removed it and opened the box for her. Inside, laying on a velvet cushion, was what looked like a necklace with a three inch wide onyx colored silk band that had runes stitched around the edges in gold and a gold medallion, 3 inches in diameter, hanging from it with Hedwig's name engraved on it.

"I found this in my book about familiars and ordered it for you right away, as well as one for Jaidynn. They are specially made on order in Japan so it took some time getting here. The runes on the band are for protection mostly but can help you from getting too tired on long journeys by giving you a bit of a boost. After receiving it, I had to cast some spells the jeweler gave me on the medallion that will tie my magic to it via our bond. That will allow you to pull magic from me to make the protections more powerful if you ever find yourself in an extra dangerous situation." Harry explained as he lifted the necklace from the box.

Hedwig leaned forward to give him better access and Harry held the golden clasps together until they magically sealed themselves. "There, now only I will be able to remove the necklace and there are enchantments that keep it from being summoned and from falling off." He said and held his arm out so she could hop onto it.

Nell conjured a large mirror and spelled it to levitate in place at Hedwig's level so she could see herself.

Hedwig gazed at her reflection for a few minutes, tilting her head to the left and right then puffed out her chest before she gave another, much louder, bark.

Harry knew she liked it when her emotions bombarded him from down their link, causing him to laugh out loud from the sheer delight he felt coming from her. "You look great Hedwig."

Just as Nell vanished the mirror, there was a knock on the door and she turned to answer it, not seeming at all surprised to see Albus Dumbledore standing on their doorstep.

"Happy Christmas Albus." Nell said as she stepped aside to let him in.

"Happy Christmas everyone." Dumbledore replied and looked around the messy living room. "You have been hard at work I see."

"We just finished opening presents and were about to start on breakfast. Would you like to join us?" Nick asked, making his way to the kitchen and waving his wand to get the batter for the pancakes started along with the bacon and eggs.

Dumbledore sat in one of the chairs at the table that Nell led him to while she set about making tea and pouring juice. "That would be lovely, thank you." He turned his sights onto Harry as the boy sat hesitantly in his normal seat, which was just to the right of the wizened wizard. "Did you get some good presents this year Harry?"

Harry cocked his head to the side as he studied Dumbledore up close. He certainly seemed grandfatherly but Harry knew that Dumbledore was considered the most powerful wizard of the age. He was also responsible for him having to live with the Dursleys for all those years so he wasn't quite sure what to make of the man. "I've never gotten presents before so I can't really compare them but I did get a bunch from my friends and Nick and Nell."

Dumbledore visibly winced at hearing that. "I would like to take this moment to apologize for sending you to live with your relatives Harry. At the time I thought it the best place for you though I have learned how utterly wrong I was and can only hope to earn your forgiveness in the future."

Harry looked to Nell as she set down the tray of tea but she didn't give him any indication of what he should do so he determined that they were leaving it up to him on whether to accept the apology or not. After some deliberation, he turned back to the old wizard and nodded his head. "Apology accepted Headmaster."

"You may call me Albus when we aren't at Hogwarts Harry and thank you." Dumbledore said and added four cubes of sugar to his tea. "I brought you a few presents that I hope you will enjoy though I think it best to wait until after we eat to give them to you."

It took entirely too long after that for Nick to finish the breakfast while they all made small talk and Harry nearly wolfed down his food until he realized that he would still have to wait for the adults to finish eating before he got his presents anyway so reluctantly slowed down, much to the amusement of the others.

When they were finally done and Dumbledore made his way back into the living room, Harry jumped out of his chair and quickly followed. "This belonged to your father and I believe it is time it was passed to you." Dumbledore said, pulling a squishy looking package from his robes and handing it to Harry.

Harry took it reverently and simply basked in the fact that he was holding something that belonged to his father before slowly tearing the wrapping away. A shimmering silvery cloth spilled out of the package and nearly hit the floor before Harry caught it. It felt like he was somehow holding onto handfuls of water and he marveled as he ran his hands over it.

Nick turned to Dumbledore. "Albus, is that…?"

Dumbledore beamed as Harry looked up at them and asked. "What is it?"

"Put it on and see my boy." Dumbledore said.

Harry fumbled for a bit as he found the top of what he now realized was some type of cloak and threw it around his shoulders. "How does it look?"

"See for yourself." Nell said with a smile and conjured another mirror, this one full length, and set it in front of him.

Harry cried out in alarm as his floating head appeared in the mirror but nothing else. He looked down at his body and realized that everything covered by the cloak had completely disappeared.

The adults chuckled as he passed his hand in and out of the cloak to watch it appear and disappear before Nick answered his first question. "It's an invisibility cloak Harry and they can be quite expensive for a good one."

"Wow." Was all Harry could say as he took off the cloak.

"May I?" Nick asked stepping forward. He took the cloak from Harry when he nodded and handed it to him, looking over it with a critical eye. "Albus, you said that this belonged to James?"

"Yes, he let me borrow it shortly before… that Halloween so that I could examine it. According to him, it has been in the Potter family for quite some time."

"Impossible." Nick murmured as he pulled his wand to begin casting spells.

"Why is it impossible?" Harry asked.

Nick threw the cloak over Nell and brushed his hand over the fabric so he could examine it in its invisible state. "Because the best invisibility cloaks are made from Demiguise hair, which is a peaceful magical creature that has the ability to make itself invisible at will, and they only last a few years before they start to turn opaque and eventually stop working entirely."

"I felt the same way Nicolas, which is why I asked James to let me examine it." Dumbledore admitted. "I found no signs of it aging however and even after all this time, it works as if brand new."

Nell swatted Nick's hand as it began to rove ever lower down her body and he gazed up at where he thought her head was with a bewildered look on his face before realizing where his hand had been roaming and gave a cheeky grin.

He finally finished his examination of the invisibility cloak and handed it back to Harry.

"Can I take it with me to school?" Harry asked as he began folding it up, eyes bulging as it continued to get smaller and smaller until he could easily fit it into his pocket.

The Flamels looked at each other and held a silent conversation between themselves while Dumbledore gave Harry a small wink and amused smile. Nell turned to him finally and said, "It will be good to carry it around in case of emergencies but you must promise not to use it to go wandering around the castle after curfew or break any other rules."

"I promise." Harry crowed, shaking the cloak out again so he could throw it back over himself, simply because he could.

"Very good." Dumbledore spoke up." Now, there is one more present I have for you Harry but it is outside so you would need to get dressed before I can show it to you."

Harry wasted no time in running to his room to change, the adults only aware of his exit by the sound of his footsteps running away from where they stood. He took the cloak off, lay it gently on his bed, and quickly got dressed. He made it back to the living room in record time, put on the cloak Cedric had gotten him and hopped impatiently from foot to foot while waiting for Nick and Nell to get ready to go outside too.

Following Dumbledore out the door with Hedwig again on his shoulder, Harry hardly noticed the fairy tail winter wonderland that had become Nick and Nell's garden. The main attraction, as always, being the fairies, who had taken to fluttering around the cottage, acting as Christmas lights since their fountain had frozen. The few that had taken to Harry and enjoyed playing with him when he came outside flew over and burrowed into his hair and the collar of his cloak or perched on his shoulders.

The raven-haired boy looked around for his present and let out a shout of glee when his eyes fell on his second familiar and her parents standing at the edge of the woods. "Jaidynn!" Harry cried and ran to her as she let out an excited whinny and made her way to him. It had only been a little more than a week since he had seen her but he hadn't expected to get to spend time with her again until after the holidays so Harry was ecstatic to be able to see her for Christmas.

"Though they certainly didn't like the portkey I used to get them here, I think they found it was worth making the trip." Dumbledore said with a smile as Harry hugged the foal and Kylina and Auris walked forward to join them.

"The wise one explained to us what day it is and, though we do not celebrate your holidays, we did not want to miss a chance to spend time with you." Auris said as they approached and touched his horn to Harry's forehead with Kylina following suit. Harry had learned that this gesture was how they said hello and goodbye to each other and was always amazed at the sensation he felt when they did it, as if they were cleansing his mind and body, leaving a feeling of contentment and love.

"Thank you Auris, Kylina. I'm glad I got to see all of you." Harry said and gave them both a hug in turn. He had felt slightly intimidated by the two at first but had soon learned that they viewed him as not just part of the herd, but as a second child and knowing that had made it much easier for him to interact with them.

"Harry." Nick said from where the three adult humans were watching the happy display. Harry looked towards him and noticed he was holding a package similar to Hedwig's. "Don't you have something to give to Jaidynn?"

"Thanks Nick." Harry said, taking the present from him and bringing it back over to the Unicorns. "I got you a Christmas present Jaidynn. Do you want me to open it for you?"

Jaidynn nickered softly and bobbed her head up and down but as he went to tear away the paper, Hedwig sent a flash through his mind and Harry laughed as he held it up for her to open instead, again removing the paper once she had loosened it and opening the box. This necklace had a deep sapphire blue band with silver runes and a silver medallion that Harry thought would look very nice once Jaidynn's silver hair grew in all the way. At the moment, it was almost to her knees with small patches here and there on the rest of her body and Harry knew from Kylina that the young foal was a little self conscious about the way it looked.

Upon seeing the necklace, Jaidynn gave a happy whinny and eagerly came forward so Harry could put it on her. He told her the same thing he had told Hedwig, though with a slight difference. "I won't be able to cast the spells on the medallion to link my magic to you until we bond completely but at least now you will have some protection in case anything happens."

Kylina came forward and nuzzled Harry's head, letting out a loud snort into his hair, blowing away the fairies burrowed within and causing it to stick up slightly. "Thank you for the gift Harry. No others have been taken from us but we still sense the darkness lurking in the forest, though we cannot seem to pinpoint where it might be. Knowing that Jaidynn will have extra protection helps ease some of our worry."

"Mine too." Harry admitted and petted her nose as he turned to Dumbledore. "Thank you for bringing them here sir."

"You are most welcome Harry. I am afraid I can't take all the credit though, as it was Nicolas and Perenelle's idea in the first place." He replied. "I had a rather hard time tracking them down to be honest, since they kept moving away from me and can be quite fast when they see a need to be. I had to resort to sending a messenger Patronus to find them and let them know why I was looking for them."

"What's a messenger Patronus?" Harry asked and watched with amusement as Hedwig hopped onto Jaidynn's head and the young Unicorn went trotting around the garden.

"It is a little trick I invented during the last war as a means of communication using the Patronus Charm, which is a charm used mostly against Lethifolds and Dementors. I don't believe you will be learning about them until around 6th or 7th year."

"Can I see it?"

"Of course." Dumbledore said and pulled his wand, raised it, and waved it in a circular motion. A white light coalesced at the end of the wand before shooting forth and taking the shape of a large phoenix.

It flew around the garden before stopping to hover right in front of Harry and speaking to him in Dumbledore's voice. "Hello Harry."

Harry laughed and reached out to try and touch the glowing white phoenix but his hand went straight through it before it slowly vanished. "That was brilliant. Can you teach me how to do that?"

"I'm afraid it's a fairly advanced spell and many adult witches and wizards have great difficulty learning it. However, Perenelle has informed me that you are doing very well in your training so far and your marks for the first semester are excellent so I have no doubt that she will eventually attempt to teach it to you." Dumbledore said.

"Oh." Harry said, a tad disappointed. "Do they always look like animals?"

"Indeed they do. Each Patronus is unique to the person casting it, usually representing that which resides deep within their personality and may not always take the shape one would expect."

Harry looked at Nick and Nell with a curious expression and they both raised their wands to cast the spell at the same time. Nick's took the shape of a fox while Nell's turned out to be a wolf.

"Before I fell in love with Nell, my Patronus took the form of a seal. It's not uncommon for the form of the Patronus to change its shape if the caster goes through some sort of emotional change themselves. I didn't even realize mine was different until I was teaching Nell the spell years later and we realized that they took the same form as each other's Animaguses." Nick's Patronus told him as it pranced around Harry's feet while Nell's wolf sat regally nearby.

"I can't wait to try it and see what mine is." Harry said.

"Perhaps we can see how you do in your 3rd or 4th year." Nell said. "Now, why don't you stay out here and spend time with Jaidynn and the others while we go inside to talk. Albus will be here until Luna and Xeno arrive."

"That's great, Luna was excited to meet Jaidynn, Auris, and Kylina when I wrote her about them. Thanks for asking the Headmaster to bring them." Harry said over his shoulder as he ran off to play tag with Jaidynn.

Though he had tested his new cloak to its limits and his cheeks and nose were rosy red by the time Luna and Xeno got there, Harry enjoyed his time with the Unicorns. Luna rushed out the door as soon as she was told what Harry was up to outside and Nick hurried to transfigure her sweater into a jacket so she wouldn't get too cold since they had arrived via floo and had not expected to be going outside.

All three Unicorns took to the peaceful little girl immediately and Luna wasted no time in starting up a one sided conversation with Kylina while sitting next to her in the snow and stroking her side. All too soon though, Dumbledore came out of the cottage and announced that he had to be going and both children reluctantly said goodbye to the beautiful creatures.

Once back in the cottage, Harry grabbed Luna's present from under the tree and sat down in front of the roaring fire so he could thaw out. He gratefully took one of the mugs of hot cocoa Nell brought them and took a sip before setting it down and facing Luna, who had sat on the floor right across from him with her present for him.

"Want to open them one at a time or together?" He asked.

Luna looked thoughtful for a moment as she sipped her own cup of hot cocoa then said. "I think opening them together would be best."

Harry simply nodded and held the present out to her and took the one she handed him.

"On the count of three." Luna said. "One, two, three!"

They both tore into the presents at the same time, Luna's face lighting up when she saw Madam Audeley's Paint Supplies written across the top of the case in ever changing colors. Neither Nell or Nick were very artistic, but Nick had directed him to Madam Audeley's art store when Harry told them what he had wanted to get Luna, telling him it was the best place to get art supplies if not a little expensive.

"Wow Luna, this is great." Harry said, staring at the painting of Hedwig as she flapped her wings at him. The real Hedwig came over to gaze at the picture and gave a satisfied bark.

"Thank you Harry. I know I already gave you a picture but after you told me that Hedwig doesn't really like it in your dormitory, I asked her to pose for me one day while she was resting at my house so you might hang it up in there instead. Then I asked Daddy to make an appointment for me to see Julian Bamard about placing the enchantments on it to animate her. He is my favorite artist and is the one that got me interested in art." Luna explained and opened the case to see what was inside.

"Thanks a lot Luna. I'll definitely be putting this up in my room when I get back." He said and set it aside so he could watch her remove each item one by one.

Satisfied hums could be heard from the blond-haired girl every time she took an item out of the case to examine it until she got to the paint, at which point she could only stare in amazement. "Harry, these are the Bellegarde brand. They are very high quality and extremely expensive."

"I know, I asked Madam Audeley which ones she thought were the best and she pointed these out. She told me she not only likes them for their quality but also because Gérard and Jeannette Bellegarde donate half of their proceeds to various magical and non-magical orphanages around France."

Luna began packing all of the supplies away and said. "I'll be sure to paint you a magnificent picture with these."

"I can't wait to see it." Harry replied.

"Hey you two, it's time for lunch." Nick said, popping his head in from the kitchen.

The rest of the day flew by for Harry. Luna and Xeno stayed so long that they ended up being invited to stay for the large Christmas dinner Nick had made. Once that was done and the father and daughter had left, the three of them relaxed for a bit before getting ready to go visit Sirius at St. Mungo's.

Upon entering the private room, Harry noticed that his godfather had an enlarged copy of the Daily Prophet's story about Peter Pettigrew's capture and trial stuck up on his wall, which he would continuously sneak a peak at and chuckle darkly.

Madame Bones had wasted no time in doing either it seemed since it had only been on the 23rd that Nick had gone to the Ministry to let her know what they had found out from Sirius and Remus and the Daily Prophet had run a special evening edition on Christmas Eve to inform the magical community of all the gritty details. Though the Weasley family took a bit of a hit for allowing Pettigrew to hide with them in the first place, Arthur Weasley had made up for the mistake by assisting with the rat's capture. Pettigrew ended up getting life imprisonment in the high security wing of Azkaban and Sirius had laughed for a solid ten minutes at Amelia's account of the little traitor's squeals of terror and begging as they drug him away.

Once Sirius' gloating was over, Nell reminding him that Pettigrew was not really a proper Christmas topic, they got down to the very important moment of exchanging presents. Sirius enjoyed the large box of the newest joke and prank items from both Zonko's and Gambol and Japes but was hesitant about the personal journal he received from his godson.

Remus had written Harry shortly after their visit that one of the Mind Healers had recommended that the man begin writing in a journal, believing that it might help with the nightmares and outbursts but the werewolf didn't think Sirius would even consider writing in it if he got it for him but that he might be willing to if Harry gave him one instead. He had made sure to get one that was charmed to let no one else but Sirius read what he had written so the man couldn't try the excuse that someone could steal it and read it as being the reason he didn't want to write in it.

It took some convincing and slight coercion on Harry's part but he finally convinced Sirius to at least try writing in the journal to see if it actually helped at all and he finally gave in and promised to try it as well as test out some of the pranks on his medi-witches and Healer the next chance he got and write Harry to let him know how it went.

The Chinese puzzle box Harry had found in Pandora's Box, a small shop they had come across in Diagon Alley right past Gringotts that sold all different kinds of odds and ends, intrigued Remus immediately. Harry chose not to tell him that the puzzle box was only half the present, the gift certificate to Gawain's Grandeur Apparel shop that was hidden inside for when he managed to open it, being the other.

Sirius had gotten him a magical penknife that could open any lock and untie any knot, even if protected by spells, as well as Harry's own box of the jokes and pranks Sirius enjoyed when he was younger. Remus gifted him Occlumency for Beginners: Preparing to Protect Your Mind from Intruders, which he explained had a detailed chapter about meditation that could assist him with his Animagus training among other things, and a one year subscription to Quidditch Global, a magazine featuring articles about the various Quidditch teams and games happening all over the world.

The group conversed until Sirius' Healer came in to let them know that it was time for his patient to rest so goodbyes were said and a promise given to visit at least once more before the end of the holidays. It was as they were leaving the hospital that Harry got a major shock.

"Neville? What are you doing here?" He asked his friend after almost running into him and his grandmother in the reception area.

Neville looked surprised to see them there and shuffled nervously from foot to foot.

When he didn't answer, Harry grew concerned. "Are you hurt?"

The shy boy shook his head vigorously but still said nothing, biting his lip and staring at the floor instead.

"Neville, have you not told your friends?" Augusta asked him as kindly as she could. She had been trying harder not to be so stern with her grandson since their discussion over the summer but she gave an exasperated sigh when he shook his head again. "It's nothing to be ashamed of Neville. Would you like me to tell him?"

Neville looked at her in relief and nodded.

"Very well. Perhaps we should move to a quieter area." Augusta suggested and everyone followed her to a set of chairs in an empty corner of the waiting room. Once they were situated, Harry making sure to sit next to his friend as it looked like Neville was having a hard time with whatever was going on, Augusta told them all about Frank and Alice Longbottom and how they had been tortured into insanity by Death Eaters.

When she was done, Harry lay a hand on Neville's shoulder. "I'm sorry Nev. That's why you got so upset on the train huh?"

"Yeah." He replied softly. "I… I'm not ashamed of them." At this he gave his grandmother a pointed look before looking down again. "It's just hard to talk about and I don't like seeing the looks of pity from people when they hear about what happened."

"I understand." Harry said and hesitated a moment before continuing. "I'd like to meet them some time if that's ok with you."

Neville gave him an incredulous look. "Really?" Harry nodded and he added sadly. "They wouldn't really know you or anything, even if you visited them every day. They don't even recognize me or Gran."

"I'm sure they still enjoy your visits Nev, even if they don't have the ability to show it." Harry said.

"Do you really think so?" Neville asked tentatively. A part of him always held out hope that his parents were still there but just weren't able to bridge the gap in their minds that had broken, to let him know that they recognized him and were happy to see him. The other part however, thought that being trapped in your own mind for years without being able to communicate to others would be an absolutely horrible way to live the rest of your life and he felt guilty for being so selfish.

"Of course." Harry said with conviction. "You're their son and they'll always be happy to see you."

A small smile slowly spread across his friend's face and he said. "Thanks Harry."

"You're welcome." Harry said and slapped him lightly on the back. "Now, how was your Christmas? Did you like your present?"

Neville's smile grew wider as he answered. "Yeah, it's great! I already gathered some seeds from the greenhouse to store in the case. Did you know that it has built in preservation runes powerful enough to keep the seeds from decaying for up to 10 years?"

"Of course." Harry laughed. "That's part of the reason I chose that one."

"Well thanks a lot, I really like it. How did you like your Broom Servicing Kit?"

"It's just what I needed actually. My Nimbus looks like it could do with a good polishing; it really takes a beating sometimes from those obstacle courses that Dimitri sets up."

Augusta and the Flamels let the boys discuss the various Christmas presents they had gotten for a bit longer before finally deciding it was time to get going, reminding them that they would see each other the very next day.

Harry watched his friend leave with a bit of a sad smile. He had wished too many times to count over the years that he could have his parents back amongst the living but didn't think for a moment that he would be strong enough to come visit them, looking into their eyes and not seeing the recognition that should be reflected there. Neville had it much worse than Harry did to be sure. "He's a lot braver than he thinks he is." Harry said quietly.

Nick heard him and lay his arm across the boy's shoulders so he could pull him close as they made their way to the fireplaces to floo home.

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 **A/N:** I know the bit about the presents was sort of long but I don't plan on listing them out like that every time, I was just having way too much fun thinking up all the different things for Harry to get his friends and even ended up wanting all of them myself. As always, you guys are awesome and thanks for reading.


	15. New Years Celebrations

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Harry enjoys his first Christmas with the Flamels and Dumbledore surprises him with a gift he never could have expected, his father's invisibility cloak. He shares the day with Luna and her father, Sirius and Remus, and runs into Neville with his Gran while at Saint Mungo's where he learns all about Neville's parents.

 **A/N:** So I don't actually have a beta for my story but I do have a friend that reads each chapter once I finish them just to make sure that everything meshes together into a somewhat logical story. Because she does this for me, this chapter is dedicated to her as she specifically requested I write a chapter for the New Years party once I mentioned it instead of just touching on it for a bit like I had planned. She has an obsession with reading about food so I included a bit of that but the rest is just my imagination running a bit wild. Hope you guys enjoy it.

* * *

"Daddy, can I have a slumber party with some of my friends from Hogwarts New Years Eve?" Daphne asked her father shortly after dinner her first night home as they sat peacefully in the sitting room. After discussing it on the train, the girls had decided that she would be the first to ask since Graceview, the Greengrass manor, was the largest and she wanted them to participate in some of her families New Year traditions.

"Who did you have in mind Petal?" Callum Greengrass asked and took a sip of his favorite after dinner drink, Ghostbrandy. It was made with petal shavings from the Adastreia flower, which resembled bluebells but were pure white in color and only grew atop snowy mountain peaks. The shavings turned the brandy an unnatural milky white color and created a sort of mist within the glass once poured. It was almost ice cold going down but this did not take away from the flavor one bit.

Though she knew that he would certainly have a problem with at least one of her friends, Daphne didn't hesitate in naming everyone, as that would make it seem as if she were trying to get something past him. The fact that she was trying to get something past him was firmly ignored. "Tracey and Blaise of course." She said and her father nodded his approval. "Also, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter."

She chose to slip Hermione's name in right before Harry's in the hopes that her father would focus more on the fact that they would be having the Boy-Who-Lived over to their house and not ask about the one name he didn't recognize. While her father had never jumped onto the whole Death Eater bandwagon during the war, choosing to stay out of the whole affair and protect his family instead, he could still sometimes be a blood snob. She knew it was a bit risky, trying to invite her Muggle-born friend over, but wanted to at least try. Besides, she had a perfect plan on how to deal with him if he refused which had never failed her in the past.

Her hopes were dashed as he tilted his head to the side in thought and enquired. "I don't believe I have ever heard the name Granger before. Are they from out of the country?"

"No, they live in West Sussex."

"Hmm, I don't recall any pure-blood families living in Sussex."

"Well, they aren't exactly pure-blood." She admitted reluctantly.

Her father gave her a piercing look. "Half-blood?"

Daphne shook her head.

"Absolutely not young lady. I will not have a Muggle-born stepping foot in my home, let alone spending any amount of time here."

"You don't even know her dad. Hermione is brilliant with magic and is the top of nearly all of our classes."

"Well that just goes to show how far Hogwarts' educational system has fallen." Callum muttered.

Daphne stood up and placed her hands firmly on her hips as she glared at him. "You know full well Hogwarts has gotten better recently thanks to the Flamels and the new classes they added this year, or you would have shipped me off to Beauxbatons instead."

She was right of course. Despite wanting Daphne and Astoria to attend and graduate from the same school as him and his wife, Callum knew that Hogwarts had steadily been getting worse over the years and was willing to put his feelings aside to do what was best for his daughters. If that meant sending them to France so they could get a better education, then so be it. Thankfully, rumors had started circulating early that summer that the Flamels were going to be teaching at Hogwarts and, not wanting to pass up such an opportunity, he sighed in relief as he tossed the registration forms for Beauxbatons in a folder where they were promptly put from his mind.

"I know how you feel about Muggles Dad and I was hesitant about Hermione at first too but she really is very nice and just the same as you and me as far as having magic goes. Muggle-borns are a part of our world whether some want them to be or not and from talking to the Flamels, I have learned that England is falling far behind in our acceptance of them.

"I am proud of our family but ashamed that we seem to believe ourselves above witches and wizards like Hermione simply because we were lucky enough to be born into a magical family." Daphne wasn't entirely sure where she was going with her impromptu rant but found that she couldn't stop herself, she had been planning a confrontation similar to this ever since she decided to accept Hermione as one of her friends and all of the many arguments she had gone through in her mind seemed to blend together and tumble out of her mouth. "It's that very same pride that makes me want her to meet all of you so she can get to know you."

Callum sat quietly once Daphne was done, thinking over her words, but a lifetime of prejudice against Muggles and Muggle-borns proved to be too difficult to ignore in the end and he said. "I'm afraid my answer is still the same Daphne. You may have your other friends over but I will not welcome a Muggle-born into this house."

Daphne's face morphed into disappointment before quickly switching to a look of fury. "Fine." She spat, spun on her heels, and, without even asking to be excused, stormed out of the room.

Astoria, who had originally been sitting on the sofa next to her sister, looked worriedly between the door which Daphne had left through and her father. She finally chose to look to her mother instead and asked. "May I be excused?"

Elizabeth Greengrass sat in her favorite chair near the fire and switched her attention from her husband to her daughter and gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course dear." She watched her youngest flee the room in pursuit of her sister and looked back to her husband with a deep frown. "Callum—"

"I have said all I mean to on the subject Lizzy and do not care to hear your opinion on the matter." He interrupted, gulping down the last of his brandy, frost billowing out of his mouth as he let out a deep sigh.

"I see. If you'll excuse me." She said as she stood, closing the book she had been reading gently, laying it on the table next to her chair, and leaving without waiting for his reply. Daphne's little speech must have gotten to him more than she had first thought but that was no excuse for his behavior.

Callum ran a hand down his face and sighed again. Now two of his girls were mad at him, just great.

He sat in the silence and flickering firelight for a long while after his wife had left, thinking over the argument. That he should have such troubles over an insignificant Muggle-born child made him angry and resentful against this girl he had never met.

A part of him knew he was being foolish though. Having attended Hogwarts with Muggle-borns himself, he knew that there was no difference, magically speaking, between him and them. Yet his own father's words sprang unbidden into his mind any time he gave it any thought and reminded him that he was above them and that they were unworthy of studying magic.

When his temper finally began to settle, Callum rose from his chair and made his way to his bedroom. Elizabeth was already asleep when he got there so he got ready for bed as quietly as possible in the near darkness, trying his best not to wake her. As he lifted the sheets and slid in beside her, he learned that he needn't have bothered trying to be so stealthy, for as soon as he lay down, she rolled over to face him and he saw that she was still wide awake.

She lay there silently and he could only stare as the moonlight streaming through the window illuminated her honey blonde hair and made her ice blue eyes seem to glow.

"Feeling better?" She asked in almost a whisper despite the fact that they could have a shouting match in here and the girls would hardly be able to hear them.

He nodded his head. "I am sorry I snapped at you. I was just caught a bit off guard with the whole affair."

She smiled slightly. "I suppose I don't blame you. Though I can't say you handled yourself very well."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, while you were firm with your decision and you did not raise your voice, you do not seem to have taken to heart Daphne's argument nor did you explain your reasons for refusing her request."

"My reasons are my own." Callum said, his tone firm. "I am the master of this house and I needn't have to explain myself."

"Need? Perhaps not. But you should explain them to Daphne nonetheless. She is your daughter and obviously feels passionately about you hating a friend of hers that you have never even met."

"She knew perfectly well my views on Muggles and Muggle-borns before she attempted to invite the girl over." He argued.

"Perhaps she was hoping that you care enough about her to overlook your silly prejudices and support her decision to make friends outside of our normal snobbish circle." She countered and watched his eyes flash in anger in the moonlight.

"Silly prejudices?" He growled.

"Yes, silly prejudices." She repeated and grabbed onto his arm to keep him in place when it seemed as if he were going to sit up. "I am sorry my choice of words upsets you Callum but I will not take them back. You know very well that I have never held to such nonsense. Like Daphne, I am proud of both of our family heritages but that does not mean that I have to, let alone want to, look down on others simply because we were born under different circumstances.

"I very much prefer to judge another by their actions. Which is why I dislike your friend Lucius so much. That man is probably responsible for the deaths of many people, both Muggle and Magical alike, yet you have no qualms about inviting him into our home and even allow him to interact with our girls."

"I wouldn't exactly call him a friend." He muttered. Callum did not enjoy Lucius Malfoy's company any more than his wife, as the man seemed to think himself better than the Greengrasses and occasionally made snide remarks on their stance during the war. But with his connections in the Ministry being what they were, Malfoy was a good acquaintance to have.

"My argument still stands. I know it is difficult for you to think about Muggle-borns in a favorable light thanks to your father but I would very much recommend that you do your best to try or you may very well miss out on important events in your daughter's life."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you really think Daphne is going to invite her other friends over if Miss Granger cannot come? No, she will simply go to one of their houses instead when they decide to celebrate any holidays together."

"Not if I don't allow her to she won't." He replied but knew immediately that now he was just being petulant.

Elizabeth gave him a look of such deep sadness and disappointment that it tore at his heart. "I am so very disappointed in you Callum Greengrass. If you can handle the resentment that would come from you keeping Daphne from spending time with her friends then go right ahead but know that I will not support you in any way if that is the path you choose." She said, releasing his arm and moving away from him as if to leave the bed.

Callum reached out immediately and pulled her back to him. She did not resist but he felt her immediately stiffen in his arms so he wrapped them around her and rubbed her back. "I am sorry Lizzy. I did not mean what I said, I was just speaking in anger." He said and let his head drop until it was resting in the crook of her neck.

They lay there quietly for several moments and he slowly felt Elizabeth relax against him. He kissed her neck and apologized again before releasing her and pulling back so he could look into her eyes, which were still a bit guarded. "You really think Daphne will choose to be with her friends rather than us if I do not allow this Hermione Granger to come here?"

"I do. She loves us all very much but she is also very devoted to those she chooses to be her friends and she will not abandon one simply because you dislike her due to her circumstances of birth." She said and reached up to caress his cheek. "You are a good man Callum and I love you very much. I do not want to see your relationship with Daphne deteriorate over something like this. It may seem small and silly to you but it is obviously very important to her."

Callum let out a heavy sigh and rubbed a hand absently up and down Elizabeth's arm as he thought over his predicament. As much as he had wanted a son to carry on the Greengrass name, he would never dream of exchanging either of his girls for anything. From the moment they were born and he held them in his arms for the very first time, both Daphne and Astoria had him wrapped around their little fingers and he wouldn't have it any other way. Daphne, with her blonde hair and blue eyes, reminded him so much of his Elizabeth while Astoria had inherited his dark brown hair and hazel green eyes, though thankfully was nothing like him in personality but rather bubbly and outgoing.

His love for his daughter was now warring with his lifelong and deep-rooted discrimination against Muggles and he didn't like it one bit, since he knew which would ultimately win in the end. At least he would have time to somewhat get used to the idea before this Granger girl came here so that he wouldn't embarrass and anger Daphne with his sneering and snide remarks; his preferred method of showing his disdain when dealing with Muggle-borns.

Elizabeth saw the battle raging within her husband's mind reflected in his eyes and smiled knowing he would cave in the end, as he always did. It was a wonder to her why he even bothered trying anymore. Leaving him to his musings, Elizabeth closed her eyes, wrapped an arm around him, and was soon asleep.

The next morning found Callum up and sitting down at the head of the breakfast table obscenely early for a Saturday, even for him. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, finally drifting off around 3 in the morning, and woke up slightly irritable shortly after 5. Giving it up as a bad job, he rose and got ready for the day, making it downstairs 30 minutes later.

No sooner had he sat down than their head house-elf Twilly popped in beside him in her deep violet robe with the Greengrass crest stitched into the upper left shoulder. "Can I be getting yous a coffee Master Greengrass?"

"Yes and the paperwork I left on my desk in the study yesterday."

She popped away and was back moments later with his coffee just the way he liked it and set it down in front of him along with his requested parchment and a quill. "Would yous be liking breakfast?"

"I will wait for the girls to come down. That will be all for now." He said, dismissing the elf and she disappeared with a small bow.

Callum spent the next hour and a half going over his business reports and was just finishing up when Elizabeth walked into the room to join him, giving him a disapproving look. She hated when he scattered his paperwork all over the table when he had a perfectly good desk in his study but knew that he disliked working in the study early in the morning. It was an old argument of theirs that they didn't bother actually arguing about anymore.

"Good morning love." She said and pressed a kiss to his cheek as she walked past him to take her seat on his right.

"Morning." He mumbled, gathering up his work and snapping his fingers. Twilly popped in again and took the parchment that he handed her without a word before looking to Elizabeth.

"I'll have a cup of tea please Twilly."

"Yes Mistress Elizabeth." Twilly said and was gone for only a moment before reappearing with a full tea service and 3 cups as she knew that Daphne and Astoria would want tea as well when they got there.

"Missy Daphne and Missy Astoria is being almost ready to come down. Would yous like me to be bringing breakfast out now?" Twilly asked.

"That would be great, thank you Twilly." Elizabeth replied and turned to look at Callum as she left, noticing the bags under his eyes.

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

Callum rubbed a hand down his face and drank the last of his coffee before responding. "Not much, I couldn't really get my mind to settle."

Elizabeth knew better than to offer him an energy potion. For the 27 years she had known him, Callum had always hated potions and simply refused to take them unless absolutely necessary. "I was planning on taking the girls Christmas shopping in Shimmer Lane later today. Maybe you could rest while we're gone." Shimmer Lane was the wizarding shopping area located in Glasgow, Scotland and was similar to Diagon Alley but slightly smaller and always less crowded.

The weary man nodded his head but knew that he would probably take the opportunity to do his own shopping in Diagon Alley while they were gone instead of resting. Before anymore could be said, they heard footsteps approaching from beyond the doorway and Daphne and Astoria entered shortly thereafter.

As morning greetings were given, Callum found out just what Daphne's punishment was for his refusal to invite her friend over and he really should have seen it coming. While Astoria greeted him happily with a hug and kiss on the cheek, his eldest daughter made a point to bypass him entirely and greet her mother then sat down in the second chair to his left rather than the first, where she normally sat. He recognized the signs from past occurrences and knew that until she got what she wanted, Daphne would completely ignore his presence as if he weren't even there.

He chose not to comment on it at the moment and simply took a sip of the new cup of coffee Twilly brought him with the breakfast and listened to Astoria excitedly tell them all about the stores she hoped to visit on their shopping trip and trying to guess what Christmas presents they had gotten her while they ate breakfast. Once they were done and the house-elves were taking the dishes, Callum spoke. "Lizzy, would you take Astoria elsewhere so I can speak with Daphne please?"

Elizabeth gave him an encouraging smile as she rose gracefully and motioned for Astoria to follow her and they left the room to a deep silence.

Callum was getting ready to speak to his eldest when he noticed Daphne turning away as if to get up and leave. "Daphne Anne Greengrass!" He thundered.

Daphne froze in her seat before reluctantly turning back around and looking straight ahead while biting her lip. That tone of voice told her exactly who she was dealing with at the moment and she knew quite well that it was one thing to ignore her father, but it was another thing entirely to ignore her Head of House.

Callum's anger at his daughter's blatant snub dissipated and he took a deep breath to steady himself. "Look at me please." He said, his tone softer but no less commanding.

Though she quickly deduced that he was no longer speaking as the Head of House Greengrass, Daphne did as he said and turned to look at him. Having made an effort not to glance his way at all this morning, Daphne noticed for the first time the dark circles under his eyes and how tired he looked.

"First of all, I can understand that you are upset with me over our conversation last night but you are getting too old to childishly ignore me whenever you don't get your own way. Not only do you know how it makes me feel but it is also insulting to me as your father and Head of House and I will not tolerate such behavior in the future. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir." Daphne said after giving it some thought. He was right, she was 11 now and a Slytherin, she should certainly be able to think of more creative ways to get what she wanted.

"Good. Second of all, after much consideration I have decided to allow you to invite all of your friends here for New Years Eve, including Miss Granger."

"Really?" Daphne blurted out, her eyes widening in surprise. She couldn't believe that he had given in so quickly after how against it he obviously was the night before.

"Yes really." Callum paused for a moment, still hesitant to explain to his eldest exactly why he was the way he was, but knew it was something she needed to know. "You don't know this, but your grandfather was very much for pure-blood supremacy and hated Muggles, Muggle-borns, and even most half-bloods. Had he lived to see the war, I have no doubt that he would have chosen to follow You-Know-Who without hesitation."

Daphne was staring at him now, interest burning in her eyes. She knew a lot about the Greengrass history but neither of her parents ever really spoke about her grandfather other than telling her his name and a few impersonal tidbits.

"Growing up, any positive statements uttered in his presence in regards to anybody who wasn't a pure-blood was met with swift and painful punishment. Although, there were plenty of times when he chose to meat out said punishment simply for the sake of it and because he could." At hearing this, Daphne leapt from her seat and ran to hug him. Despite thinking her too old for it, Callum picked her up and settled her on his knee to hold her close. "By the time I was old enough to go off to Hogwarts, I was well on my way to following in my father's footsteps. The only things that stopped me were your mother and my utter hatred for him.

"Lizzy and I met on the train ride there and, even though she was sorted into Hufflepuff and I went to Slytherin, we managed to stay fairly close throughout the years. My father died shortly before my 17th birthday and things got a lot better after that, especially when Lizzy agreed to marry me. I promised myself that I wouldn't turn out like him and that I would never hurt my children the same way he hurt me." Callum explained and tightened his hold on Daphne. "But the teachings that he beat into me remained, always in the back of my mind. I don't hate Muggles and Muggle-borns the way he did but the prejudice is still there."

Tears were spilling down Daphne's face as she listened to her father's story, hearing the sadness in his voice. He always seemed so strong and sure of himself and this was a side of him that she had never experienced before. She understood now why her parents never spoke about her grandfather and she was perfectly fine with that. She didn't want to know anyone that would dare to hurt her father, whether family or not.

"It was really my own stubbornness that saw me never really try to overcome my discriminations as well as the fact that I never felt I had a reason to. However, now that you find yourself with a Muggle-born friend and I'm fairly sure Astoria, with her outgoing personality, will have her fair share when she gets to Hogwarts, then I will try my hardest to get past them. Besides, we have already met the parents of all of your other friends, except Mr. Potter's guardians, and it would be rude of me not to meet Miss Granger's at least once. Though it may take me a couple of months and forcing myself to speak civilly with other Muggle-borns before I'm ready to interact with Muggles." Callum admitted a tad distastefully.

Daphne let out a giggle at that, picturing him trying to start a serious conversation with a Muggle-born witch or wizard, before turning serious and looking up at him. "I'm sorry Daddy. I knew that you disliked Muggle-borns before I asked but I was so focused on wanting to have my friends over that I didn't really care if it made you uncomfortable."

"You have nothing to apologize for Petal. You have every right to want to invite your friends over, no matter what their background, and I'll do my best to be a gracious host when Miss Granger gets here."

Daphne resolved to tell Hermione to be careful with the way she vocalized anything she found disagreeable during her visit as she knew the girl could sometimes blurt out insulting things regarding how magicals acted not realizing that she was, in fact, being insulting at all. Their long discussion on house-elves sprang to mind and how Hermione had very nearly started a row with Daphne and Tracey when she accused them of owning slaves without thinking, even if it was technically true. It took some time for them to convince the girl the majority of house-elves are treated quite well by the families they served and that going on a rampage at the injustice of having house-elves would probably get her nowhere at the moment. Best to leave stuff like that to when you actually have the clout to get what you want.

While Daphne knew that her paternal grandfather hadn't treated his house-elves very well, her father treated them more like servants and though he was rather dismissive of them, she knew that he was very fond of Twilly. Her mother had convinced him to designate a small room with beds for the ten that they had working in the house and outside on the grounds and she and the girls were always polite to them, garnering their trust and devotion in return.

Callum and Daphne sat for a few more moments in silence taking comfort from each other before Callum reminded her that they were supposed to go shopping and she might want to start getting ready. Daphne gave him a crushing hug before leaving the room to write to her friends that the party would be held at her house and then to find Astoria and her mother.

"Does Master Greengrass be needing anything else?" Twilly asked from off to his right. She had been the only one of the house-elves not to scurry away when he had yelled at Daphne and had remained to clean away the breakfast dishes. They all knew that he would not harm them and he had never commanded them to punish themselves but seeing their master angry was still a bit frighting.

Callum gazed at the little house-elf with a faraway look in his eyes. "Not at the moment Twilly." He finally said, standing and walking out of the room.

Having been taking care of him since the day he was born, especially when his father had hurt him in one way or another, Twilly was utterly devoted to her young master and his family. She hated seeing them argue and was glad that their disagreement had not lasted very long this time as she knew how upset it made him whenever one of his girls was mad at him. Twilly gave a small smile as she popped away and took it upon herself to supply her master with cups of coffee throughout the day whenever she saw him becoming too tired.

OoOoOoO

New Years had finally come and Daphne was as ready as she would ever be for her party. She had made sure to tell everyone that it was comfortable casual dress since nobody but them and her family would be here and she was dressed simply in pale blue robes and the pair of dove shaped hairpins that Harry had gotten her for Christmas. The blonde haired girl gave a smile as she remembered her mother having to come in to choose her robes for her as Daphne had gone through nearly her entire wardrobe and couldn't find anything she wanted to wear despite telling her friends not to worry too much about the way they dressed.

She now stood in the middle of the dining room with her hands on her hips as she inspected the spread of food laid out on the tables placed around the edges of the room.

After some discussion with her mother, she had decided to go with a buffet style dinner, similar to the meals at Hogwarts, for her friends rather than the 7 course meal her parents usually presented for their guests. Daphne thought that her friends would appreciate the more relaxed atmosphere and being able to choose what they wanted to eat.

Boppy had outdone himself in the kitchen, expertly directing the other house-elves designated to assist him in making the dinner, and had made sure to keep in mind Daphne's suggestions as far as what her friends preferred and what they didn't.

The first table housed the hors d'oeuvres; including an assortment of canapés, a tiered tray full of crackers and all different kinds of cheeses, escargot—otherwise Blaise would be absolutely unbearable to be around the rest of the night— and fresh sliced vegetables with a honey curry dipping sauce. Next came the main course with finger sandwiches, buns, roast potatoes, shepherd's pie, and pork pies. The dessert table had ginger newts, cauldron cakes, fruit salad, and Boppy's specialty lemon merengue pie. And lastly was the beverage table; which had pumpkin juice, pumpkin fizz, butterbeer, and bubble juice.

The house-elves had done a good job with the decorations as well she decided as she looked them over with a critical eye. The main colors she had chosen were purple and silver—that these colors just happened to be the colors of her families house was merely coincidence—so as not to seem as if she were attempting to support one Hogwarts house colors over another considering their diverse group. This was her first time throwing a party and Daphne wanted everything to be perfect.

Her father had reluctantly agreed to allow her to use the family silver and so the streamers floating up near the ceiling, the silk tablecloths, and paper birds flittering around the room were deep violet with silver trimmings. There were also small burst of miniature fireworks going off every few minutes in random places and in an assortment of colors that Twilly had taken upon herself to add to the decor and Daphne had made sure to let the little elf know that she liked them and to thank her for adding them.

The recreation room, where they would spend the rest of their night after dinner playing games and partaking of the first part of her families New Year traditions, was similarly decorated.

As Twilly smoothed out non-existent wrinkles in one of the tablecloths, Daphne snuck a peak at her watch and saw that it was 5:58 PM, nearly time for Tracey to arrive. She rushed to the sitting room, which was where friends of the family were allowed to floo into the house. As was customary with guests arriving by floo for a party, each one would be designated a specific time to come through the floo, usually about three minutes after the one before so as to avoid any collisions.

Just as she passed the threshold leading to the sitting room, seeing that her parents and Astoria were all ready there, the flames in the fireplace turned green and roared upward for a few seconds before settling back down, revealing Tracey standing within. She stepped expertly out of the flames as Elizabeth vanished the soot off of her, came forward to give her friend a hug, and immediately started talking a mile a minute about the surprise trip to the Irish Wizarding Resort that her parents had sprung on her the day after Christmas.

Over the next 20 or so minutes, Tracey was followed by Blaise, Neville, Susan, Hannah, Hermione, and Harry; the last two stumbling out of the fireplace a bit more ungracefully than the others. As Harry and Hermione were the only ones that hadn't met her family before, Daphne made sure to step forward to introduce them and watched her father with not a little bit of amusement as he kissed the back of Hermione's hand, causing the girl to blush spectacularly while fumbling out her greeting. Harry watched him do this and repeated the gesture with her mother and sister when introduced to them, sending Astoria into a fit of giggles.

Deciding to get it out of the way before they ate, Daphne guided all of them through the large manor and gave them an abridged version of the tour that her mother enjoyed giving the guests that asked. Their ancestor, Alden Greengrass, had purchased the land the Somerset countryside in 1022 and constructed the manor before settling down with his wife Josephine. The manor had been in the family ever since, the heir moving in and taking over the various businesses left behind by the previous head.

She completed the tour by showing them where they would be staying for the night up on the third floor. Her father had cast expansion charms on two of their guest rooms and had the house-elves move enough beds for each of them into the rooms. The guests had left their bags and such in the study as instructed and the house-elves had wasted no time in transporting it upstairs for them. The girls would share one room while the boys would share the one across the hall from them.

Shortly after they reached the ground floor again, the adults left the children as Daphne led them to the dining room so they weren't in the kids way and so they could share a rare dinner to themselves.

"Wow Daphne, this looks great!" Susan said when they walked in.

Daphne gave a pleased smile as the others voiced their approval and gestured for them to go ahead and start serving themselves.

They got into an orderly line and started at the appetizer table. All was going smoothly until Hermione got to the beverage table. "What is this?" She asked, picking up a goblet with a clear liquid in it.

"That's bubble juice," Blaise answered from right behind her.

Hermione brought the cup up and gave it a sniff. "It smells like honeydew."

Blaise nodded his head. "Tastes like it too. It's made from bubble fruit, which grows on the Nedadilla tree. They are about the size of a grapefruit and nearly transparent in color."

"They only grow near rivers and ponds where Naiads reside and it is one of their favorite foods. Nobody is quite sure though, whether the Naiads settle there because of the Nadadilla trees or if the trees grow because the Naiads are there." Neville said from behind Blaise.

"I thought Naiads were only Greek myth." Hermione said and took a tentative sip of the drink, eyes bulging when she breathed out a stream of bubbles.

"Most ancient myths are based on fact. Don't forget that it was only within the last 600 or so years that we started to go into hiding from Muggles. Before that—especially in ancient times— witches and wizards lived almost peacefully with Muggles and even performed magic around them." Blaise said as the bubbles floated upward and then popped, leaving a scent of melon in the air.

Hermione decided to keep the drink and went over to the table to sit near Tracey, with Blaise sitting on her other side a moment later. "I did read about that in some of the history books but its just hard to believe sometimes that a lot of things that I grew up believing were myth are actually real."

"You should check out the books I got on Egyptian magical history while we were in Egypt." Harry said and tried the escargot. Blaise had told him it was his favorite and convinced him to give it a try and so Harry had grabbed a few of the snails to put on his plate. He made a slightly disgusted face as he bit into it, more at the texture than the flavor, and decided that escargot just wasn't for him.

"Oh, I would like that. I bet they'll be really interesting." Hermione replied and smiled in amusement as she watched Harry hold his plate out to Blaise so the dark skinned boy could take the remaining escargot off his plate.

"They are, especially considering Egypt is one of the oldest magical communities in the world. The books even talk about whether the Egyptian gods were really just witches and wizards using their magic to do a lot of the things they were known for." Harry said, giving a cheeky grin when Blaise gave him a disdainful look at his offering but took the escargot nonetheless.

"Do they really think that?" Hannah asked.

Harry nodded, the chapters covering the Egyptian gods were his favorites and he had read them several times. "It makes sense if you think about it. Even the fact that the gods could transform into animals fit since witches and wizards have the ability to become Animaguses. I wouldn't be surprised if the Greek and Roman magical history held similar beliefs."

"Could I borrow your books Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Sure. Nick and Nell also got me a book on Brazil for Christmas and you can borrow that one too once I'm done with it."

"I'd like that." She replied.

"Speaking of Christmas." Tracey broke in. "How was everybody's?"

They spent the next hour and a half simply talking all about their various holidays and what each had gotten for Christmas. Daphne had been a bit nervous at letting Astoria join them for dinner but knew that her little sister would have been very upset if she had been excluded. She needn't have worried however since none of her friends seemed to mind Astoria's talkative nature and even made sure to include her in the conversation whenever possible.

Just as they sat back with satisfied sighs after finishing their various desserts, Callum walked into the dining room with Elizabeth on his arm.

"Did you all enjoy your dinner?" Elizabeth asked and smiled when she got a resounding yes from all of the children. "Very good. I believe Twilly has everything ready for us in the recreation room if you would like to follow us there."

"Ready for what Mrs. Greengrass?" Susan enquired as they filed out of the room.

"Please feel free to call me Mrs. Lizzy everyone and I believe Daphne would be better suited to answer your question." Elizabeth said.

All eyes turned to Daphne as they walked into the recreation room and her friends noticed a large round table full of supplies and seats for all 11 of them.

"I thought you guys would like to participate in some of our New Year traditions since you are here." She explained, herding them towards the table and making sure to split them up so that the Greengrasses could sit in between those that had never done this before.

Tracey and Blaise had done this a few times so knew what they were in for but the rest of their friends looked questioningly at Daphne.

"What traditions?" Harry asked and gazed around him. Daphne was sitting to his left and she was followed by Hermione, Callum, Neville, Elizabeth, Hannah, Astoria, Susan, Blaise, and Tracey.

"Well, tonight we are going to be making our own fireworks to set off at midnight but tomorrows is a surprise so you will just have to wait and see for that one."

Hannah was almost bouncing in her seat in excitement and Harry and Neville looked eager to get started on the explosives. The rest of her friends were more restrained in their excitement but there was no doubt that the interest was there.

"Okay, so all of the powders have been mixed, measured, and labeled for safety purposes so all we have to do is choose what kind of firework we want and put it together. They aren't terribly elaborate like some out there but it is fun to see the finished product." Daphne said and began grabbing items off the table and placing them in front of her. "I will go ahead and make one first so you can see how it's done and then we will help you all make your own."

Everyone watched with wrapt attention as she grabbed one of the containers, inserted the pre-measured main fuse through a hole in the bottom—which stuck to the bottom and side of the container with a sticking charm—and poured black powder over the fuse, explaining each step as she went along. She placed a paper barrier over the black powder before pouring a grayish powder, which she called the bursting charge and was responsible for causing the firework to explode, on top of that. Another barrier was placed on the bursting charge before she placed the time delay fuse in the middle and made sure it was properly connected to the main fuse. Once done with that, she started on what she considered the fun part, choosing what shape the firework would take once it exploded.

"We have all different kinds of stars, these round pellet looking things, for the effects. Like I said, each bag is pre-measured and labeled with the shape and color so you can choose which ones you want for yourself as well as layer them if you want separate bursts of the same shape but with a different color. I'll do a simple one to show you." Daphne explained and grabbed the stars that would create a blue flower shape and a pink one, poured them both into her container with another barrier to separate them, double checked the fuse one more time, and then wrapped the whole thing in a thin red paper.

"There you have it." She said, setting her finished firework in the middle of the table for everyone to see.

"You made it seem so easy." Neville said incredulously.

Daphne grinned. "Well, I have been doing this since I was about 6 so I've pretty much gotten the hang of it. Tracey actually makes better ones than I do even though she has only done it 2 or 3 times. She really likes the explosions."

Tracey stuck her tongue out at her friend and asked. "Can we start now?"

"Do you guys think you can do it if we help you along?" Daphne asked and made sure that they all nodded in the affirmative before telling them to go ahead and start.

They were well into their little project, the various Greengrasses helping out when needed, when Elizabeth looked over and saw Hermione biting her lip as she scanned the different types of stars on the table. She noticed Daphne helping Harry with his fuse so caught her husband's eye and nodded towards Hermione. Callum gave her an annoyed look but turned to the bushy haired girl in the end.

"Do you need help with something Miss Granger?" He asked.

Daphne's ears perked up at hearing her father speak to her friend for the first time that night other than to say hello and she listened intently while she helped Harry.

Hermione blushed a bit as she looked up at Daphne's father. Once upon a time, before she started at Hogwarts and actually made friends, she preferred spending time with adults rather than children her own age but she couldn't seem to get it together around Callum Greengrass. Maybe it was the fact that he fit the profile of what her mum referred to as tall, dark, and handsome or that even just sitting there making fireworks, he was slightly intimidating. Or maybe it was a combination of the two but she was determined to overcome it.

She took a deep breath and said. "I don't think so sir. I was just trying to choose which effect I wanted but there are so many to choose from. The ones I'm used to are pretty simple and it's hard to believe there are so many different shapes."

"Well magic is heavily involved in the production of our fireworks and like Daphne said, the ones we have here are pretty basic. There are fireworks out there that take the shape of dragons, full sized and with fiery breath included. It's even said that a previous Headmaster by the name of Wulfwin Brayles loved fireworks so much that he created his own that he set off at the end of his last term before he retired. The story says that it shot high into the air and when it exploded, there was a gigantic mirror image of Hogwarts castle floating in the sky for a full minute before it began to crumble and take the shape of the students flying around on broomsticks." Callum explained and smiled slightly at Hermione's look of wonder.

"Wow." Hermione said. "Has anyone ever remade the firework?"

"Unfortunately not. Headmaster Brayles was a bit of a narcissist and when asked for the recipe, refused to give it, stating that he would be the only Headmaster to go out with such a 'bang'."

"Well that wasn't very nice of him." Hermione said.

"No it wasn't. Many Headmasters after him have tried to get the recipe from his portrait but it is just as stubborn as the man himself." Callum said and reached for a bag of stars, which he then handed to Hermione. "You could try this one. It's one of the better ones and takes the shape of a herd of Unicorns that go galloping across the sky once it explodes."

Hermione's eyes lit up at hearing that. "Thank you Mr. Greengrass, I think I will."

Callum turned to his wife with a bit of a triumphant smile and she nodded her head in approval and not a little bit of amusement.

They were about done when Twilly popped in next to Callum, making Hermione jump in surprise.

"I is being sorry for scaring yous Missy Granger." Twilly said.

Hermione stared at the little creature for a few moments before Daphne poked her in the side, causing the girl to jump again. "It's alright. What's your name?"

"I is Twilly Missy." Twilly answered with a nod of her head before turning to Callum. "It is almost being 10 o'clock Master Greengrass."

Callum nodded his head and looked around the table as Twilly popped away again. "Has everyone finished their fireworks?"

"I believe so." Elizabeth answered her husband and took stock of what they had. Daphne had made the most, coming in at 10 fireworks, and was closely followed by the rest of her family; Callum managing to make 8 while Elizabeth and Astoria made 7. Her friends had all gotten at least 3 or 4 except for Tracey, who only had one.

"Oh sweet Merlin, what have you made this time?" Blaise asked his fellow Slytherin with apprehension.

Her firework last year had scared the willies out of all of them when it exploded, raining down shooting stars in every color which exploded upon impacting the ground and transformed into a swarm of rainbow colored butterflies. Callum and Elizabeth could have sworn that they hadn't provided anything that could produce that kind of effect but Tracey seemed to have a way with explosives and a very unique imagination.

"You'll just have to wait and see won't you Zabini." Tracey said with a smirk and jabbed her wand at the firework, changing the paper from red to black. She had chosen one of the largest containers to work with and had spent the entire time perfecting her masterpiece.

They cleaned up the table somewhat and then the adults left the kids to play games and have fun until it was time to start making their way out to the clearing where they would set off the fireworks. Ever since Callum's great-grandfather, Thurstan Greengrass, had nearly set the house on fire with one of his fireworks, setting them off near the manor had been banned by every Head of House after him.

Astoria was asleep on the floor with a blanket pulled over her near the group of chatting girls while Harry, Blaise, and Neville were in a seemingly never-ending exploding snap war when Twilly popped into the room again and told them that it was time to make their way to the clearing. The cards blew up spectacularly in Neville's face as Daphne shook her sister awake. Astoria was up in moments and practically dragging them out of the room to meet up with their parents in the entrance hall.

Getting them all bundled up and making their way to the clearing took about 20 minutes total and they made it with 10 minutes before midnight. They saw a few of the Greengrass house-elves standing on the other side of the clearing, ready to light the fireworks and Tracey rushed over to inform them that the large black one should be lit last.

5 minutes before midnight, Twilly popped in front of them with a tray full of flutes of champagne. The kids got excited until Callum informed them that theirs was non-alcoholic but they took their glasses with enthusiasm nonetheless.

They had just counted down and toasted in the new year when the first firework shot into the sky. It exploded and what looked like a forest filled the night sky for 10 to 15 seconds before it disintegrated and the light coalesced into tiny fairies that came and flew around them before finally bursting with a soft pop.

"That one was mine!" Neville said excitedly as the next firework was launched.

The time it took to go through the various fireworks was a lot shorter than it took to put them together and before they knew they it, they were down to the last one.

"Mines up next." Tracey said and rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

Everyone waited expectantly as it shot up into the sky but nobody was quite ready for the explosion that came. It sounded like thunder and was so loud that it shook the ground beneath them while the lightning bolts that spewed from the center of the explosion arced across the sky, lighting up the countryside for miles around. After about 10 seconds of this, the lightning bolts were sucked back into their center all at once and another explosion rent the air, the resultant light nearly blinding them. When it settled, they could see a gigantic bird like creature made entirely of lightning slowly making its way through the air above them. It had six sets of wings and the head of an eagle and every time it flapped its wings, more bolts of lightning flashed across the sky.

"Bloody hell!" Blaise exclaimed, eyes locked onto the beautiful creature.

Hermione reached over without looking at him and poked him in the cheek. "Language." She murmured halfheartedly.

"What is it?" Harry asked in awe.

"It's a Thunderbird." Tracey said proudly as she watched the creature begin to fade the further away it got before disappearing entirely. "They are native to North America and can create thunderstorms as they fly."

"How in the world did you manage something like that with what we gave you Tracey?" Elizabeth asked.

Tracey shrugged her shoulders. "After Daphne invited me over to do this the first time I got kind of obsessed and ended up buying a bunch of books on the subject. It's not very hard to figure out the right measurements to change the powders you gave us so I can get the effect I'm looking for. I'm thinking I might pursue the art sometime after school so everyone can enjoy them."

"Maybe you could figure out how to recreate the Hogwarts firework Mr. Greengrass was telling me about. You're obviously really good." Hermione suggested.

Tracey beamed as they began making their way back inside. "Thanks. I just might do that."

OoOoOoO

Waking up the next morning was difficult for all of them but everyone managed to make it down and were sitting around the breakfast table by 9:00 chatting about the events from the night before. Susan was noticeably quiet but her friends had learned the hard way that she was pretty much a walking corpse before her second cup of tea.

They were finishing up their breakfast when Hannah decided to enquire as to what was on the agenda for the day. "So what do you have planned for us today Daphne?"

Daphne gave her a smile and said. "Go get dressed for mildly warm weather to go outside and meet me in the entrance hall. Showing you will be better than telling."

They made it back to the entrance hall in record time, anticipation on all of their faces. Blaise and Tracey because they knew what was in store for them, the rest of their friends because, if today was anything like last night, then they were sure to have loads of fun.

"Follow me." Daphne said and began to lead them towards the back of the house, Astoria skipping ahead of her only to come to a halt when she reached a set of french double doors that looked like they led to the back garden.

Daphne didn't stop as she reached out, turned the handles and pushed the doors open wide, leading them out onto a patio that had teak chairs and tables tastefully situated to give those relaxing on the patio the best view of the grounds beyond.

A beautiful garden lay just outside of the patio's boundary, chock full of all different kinds of flowers imaginable and at its edge was a small 2 foot high wall covered in bright pink and blue morning glories with an archway separating the garden from the large orchard that went on for acres. The most surprising, for those unused to such things, was that there wasn't a snowflake in sight despite it being the dead of winter.

Neville stumbled forward in a sort of daze and knelt down to inspect a large hydrangea bush whose flowers were changing colors from red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet before starting the cycle over again; except none of the flowers seemed to be in sequence, causing a dizzying kaleidoscope effect as he watched. "A Rainbow Hydrangea." He said reverently, reaching out a hand to touch one of the flowers.

"I have some extra seeds if you're interested Neville." Elizabeth said from behind him where she stood with her husband. "The last one I harvested seeds from actually provided too many for me to replant and I have yet to harvest this one."

"Really?" Neville asked with excitement as he stood up to face her. "I would love to have them. I still have some money saved up from Christ—"

"Nonsense, I won't accept one Knut from you young man." She said in a firm voice before smiling down at him. "Daphne has told me that you seem to enjoy Herbology as much as I do so I don't mind sharing. I will be sure to get them for you before you leave. Do you have a container to place them in that has preservation charms on it or do I need to give you one?"

"I have one. Harry got me an Apprentice Herbologist storage case for Christmas that I can put them in." Neville said proudly. He was pretty sure Harry hadn't paid too much attention to the different levels of the case that he had gotten him or the differences between them, probably only choosing the one he thought practical without being too outrageously expensive. The cases were created by famed Herbologist Phylida Spore and came in Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Master, and Grandmaster levels; each one capable of holding a progressively larger amount of seeds than the last.

"That was very nice of him, I only have the Novice level case myself, which allows me to hold up to 25 different seeds. I have been trying to convince Callum to get me the Grandmaster one for ages but he hasn't budged." She said this last bit conspiratorially but still loud enough that her husband could hear her, causing him to roll his eyes in amusement as they both knew that she had no real need for a case that would allow her to hold up to 1000 seeds.

Before Neville could reply, Daphne walked up. "Mum, everybody's waiting."

"Sorry love." Elizabeth said and leaned toward Neville. "We'll talk more later. I have some other seeds that I'd be willing to part with as well."

Neville bobbed his head up and down as they followed Daphne to where the rest of their group were standing just beyond the archway.

"This orchard is very lovely." Susan spoke up as she eyed the nearby peach trees.

"Thank you Susan. The Fawley family has been growing and selling fresh fruits for over 60 years, also making and selling jams and jellies from time to time. My older brother wasn't very interested in the family business once he became the Head so passed it onto me shortly after I married. I grew up helping my mother and the house-elves so had no problem accepting the responsibility and Callum had the land cleared and the orchard transferred here for me so I could work close to home." Elizabeth explained, a serene smile gracing her lips as she gazed at her beautiful orchard.

Daphne nodded her head. "She taught Astoria and I how to do the same as we grew up and every new year we come out to pick our own fruits and use them to make jams which we then share amongst ourselves and just spend time as a family. I wanted you guys to join in this year, if you're interested of course."

"Of course. That sounds like so much fun." Susan said with delight and everyone quickly agreed with her.

"Great." Daphne said and made her way over to a small storage box next to the wall. She reached in and pulled out several hand baskets, which she started handing out. "You can choose whichever fruit you like, even more than one if you want to make more than one type of jam. If you aren't sure whether a fruit is ripe or not feel free to ask any one of us and there are small ladders near random trees so if you can't reach just look around for one of them."

She walked forward and made sure they were all paying attention. "As you can see, the fruit trees are here and starting at the beginning on the left you will find pears followed by plums, apples, cherries, peaches, and apricots. Towards the right side of the orchard are the berry bushes which include blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, and strawberries and at the end we have the grapes."

When no-one budged she made a shooing gesture with her hand. "Go on then, get picking."

Susan was the first to move, eagerly making her way over to the peaches. She reached up and began to expertly squeeze various ones before finding one she wanted, placing it in her basket then moving onto the next. She was soon followed by her friends as they dispersed to different sections of the orchard.

Callum carried Elizabeth's basket in one hand while she wrapped her arm in his and they walked leisurely towards the plums, listening to the children shouting at each other across the orchard with amused smiles. They were halfway to their destination before they realized that they were being followed. Callum turned them around and they saw Hermione standing there frozen, like a deer caught in a Lumos.

"Were you heading for the pears or the plums?" Elizabeth asked kindly.

Hermione walked the rest of the way towards them. "The pears."

They got moving again and Elizabeth enquired. "Oh, do you like pear jam? I have found that it's our least best seller so I'm simply curious."

"I don't mind it but it's my mum's favorite so I thought I would bring her back a jar if it turned out all right. If that's ok with you that is. I could even pay you for it if you want me to." Hermione said.

"That won't be necessary Hermione. Each batch should make at least 4 jars of jam and I doubt we could all eat that much so I had planned on letting you all take home any leftovers anyway."

"Oh, well thank you."

"You are very welcome. Now, pear jam is Callum's favorite too and he is an expert at picking pears so if you would like some assistance I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping you." Elizabeth suggested and felt her husband stiffen slightly.

Hermione bit her lip and flushed. "Um… I don't want to impose. If you tell me what to look for I'm sure I'll be ok."

Callum stepped forward and handed Elizabeth her basket. "No imposition at all Miss Granger, I need to get some pears anyway and I certainly don't mind assisting you." He said, pulling his wand and summoning a basket for himself.

"Thank you sir and you can just call me Hermione."

"Very well Hermione." Callum said and held his arm out to her. "Shall we?"

Hermione's face went completely red as she took his arm and Callum turned to give Elizabeth a look that said that he had accepted her challenge. She gave him a bit of a smirk in return, amused at how easy he was to manipulate sometimes, and made her way into the nearest row of plum trees.

It was nearing 11:30 when they were done picking their fruits and Daphne wasted no time in leading them all back up to the house and straight to their large kitchen so they could get started. The elves had set up separate work stations for each of them around the large island in the middle of the kitchen as well as made sure all of the things they would need were sitting in the middle within easy reach of everyone.

Not really one for cooking or baking, Callum ducked out after escorting Elizabeth into the room and made his way to his study to catch up on some parchment work he had been neglecting in favor of spending time with his girls over the holidays. He was feeling proud of himself with how he had handled Miss Granger last night and today. The girl was certainly talkative once you got her going and curious beyond all reason but Callum could tell that she was very bright as well. If her parents were similar then he held out hope that meeting them wouldn't be as bad as he kept imagining it would be.

In the kitchen, Daphne let her mother take over showing her friends how to make their various jams since she was better at this part than her daughter was.

"Ok you all, if you look to your left you will see a stack of cards. Each card has the generic ingredients that go into the jam you will be making, all you have to do is find the one that is associated with the fruit that you chose." Elizabeth said and looked around as they started shuffling through the cards to find the right ones. She was happy to see they had all chosen different fruits as that would give them more variety when they sat down to share them. "You will notice that I said generic ingredients, this is because you don't have to follow the recipe exactly and may choose to spice up your jam with additional ingredients if you wish. If you want to do this but aren't sure what might go best then please don't hesitate to ask me."

"Now, the first thing we are going to do is prepare the fruit. Your baskets had a cleaning charm on them that automatically cleaned the fruits as soon as you put them in so you don't have to worry about that…" She continued on in this way, explaining as well as walking them through the process of making their jams and there was continuous chatter and laughter from the children as they worked.

It didn't take Elizabeth long to realize that Susan seemed to be very comfortable in the kitchen as she had been working by herself without instruction and even helped Hannah and Hermione from time to time if they were having difficulties. She also noticed that the red-haired girl had only chosen peaches to work with but seemed to have gotten twice as many and had doubled up her recipe.

At noon, Boppy popped in and began making a light lunch of finger foods that they could eat quickly so they could get back to work and that would tide everyone over until it came time for the jam tasting. The children dug into the food happily but ate standing up and mostly in silence, anxious to get back to their work.

It only took another hour for them all to finish and Elizabeth walked around to examine each jar and place a label on them. When she got to Susan and her 8 jars, she asked. "Not that I mind but can I ask why you made so much Susan?"

Susan shuffled a bit and said. "Peach is my mum's, Auntie Amy's, and my favorite so I was hoping I could take some home."

"Of course you can. You all can take home any leftovers you might have." Elizabeth said, giving them a smile. "Twilly."

Twilly popped in right in front of her.

"Could you go let Callum know that we are ready and make sure everything is set up out on the patio please?" The little elf bowed and popped away as Elizabeth turned to the group. "I thought it would be nice to sit outside, especially since all of my Climate Control Charms make it feel quite nice out."

The kids agreed and, at her instruction, grabbed one jar each of their jams to take outside with them. When they stepped through the open doors they saw that the house-elves had rearranged the patio chairs around a large round table. Callum joined them and they made their way to the table; eyeing the plates, small spoons, glasses of milk and tea, and massive amounts of small pieces of lightly toasted bread sitting in the middle of the table.

"We have found that this is the best way to taste each jam without getting full too quickly." Elizabeth explained as Callum pushed her seat in for her before sitting down to her left. "I would like to take this moment to thank you all for coming over to spend New Years with us and being so willing to participate in our little traditions. I am also glad that I finally got to meet all of my daughter's friends, she speaks of you constantly in her letters home."

"Muuuum." Daphne whined from her seat next to her sister and Harry, elbowing him lightly when he snickered.

Elizabeth smiled and started placing a spoon in all of the jars. "That's all I'll say Petal, I promise. Now, let's get started shall we?"

They happily dug in at that, everyone chatting and expressing their approval of each jam as they tasted it.

Elizabeth was nearly through tasting all the different ones that they had made when she got to Susan's peach jam. Her eyes widened at the explosion of different spices that hit her tongue, balanced perfectly with the sweetness of the peaches and sugar. She could see with just a glance that she wasn't the only one that had found the shy girl's jam so good. "Susan, this is delicious. May I ask what spices you used?"

Susan went slightly pink at the attention she was getting. "Um… a cinnamon stick, fresh ground cardamom and nutmeg, and a star anise."

"You seem to know your way around the kitchen. Do you bake or cook a lot?"

"Yes, my mum made me help her cook when I was younger and as I got older I found I really enjoyed it so she lets me try new recipes and different cuisines whenever I feel like it. She and Auntie Amy have told me I'm good enough to make a career out of it if I wanted but I think they were just saying that to make me feel nice." Susan admitted.

Elizabeth ate another piece of bread with the peach jam on it and nearly moaned in bliss. "I don't think they were just saying that Susan. If your cooking is anything like this I would say they were being very truthful."

"Thank you Mrs. Lizzy." Susan said and ducked her head so they couldn't see her pleased smile.

Hannah beamed at her friend since she knew how much Susan enjoyed cooking, especially for other people, but the girl never really had much confidence in herself and her abilities. Susan had mentioned on occasion how wonderful it would be to open her own restaurant someday but Hannah knew that without support from others she may never go through with it, which would be a shame.

Everyone that had tried the jam nodded their agreement while those that hadn't, reached for it so they could see what the fuss was about and couldn't agree more with Elizabeth's assessment.

"That was absolutely brilliant." Harry said, eyeing his nearly empty jar of strawberry jam with pride as he sat back in his seat to let his full stomach settle. It turned out that all the cooking the Dursleys had forced him to do throughout the years had come in handy.

"It really was." Hermione agreed and resolved to keep how much sugar she had consumed in just this sitting from her parents. Despite some of them never having cooked before, all of the jams turned out well, even Blaise's slightly spicy apricot jam, and she had eaten way too much.

Hannah rubbed her belly and groaned. "I can't believe you get to do this every year. I'm so jealous."

"Well you would all be welcome to join us in the future. I think having more people made the whole event more enjoyable." Callum spoke up and took a sip of the coffee Twilly had brought him.

"Callum is right. Feel free to join us whenever you like, just let Daphne or one of us know ahead of time so we can prepare." Elizabeth said and turned to Neville. "I believe I promised you some plant seeds Neville. Would you like to accompany me to my greenhouse to get them?"

Neville had stuffed himself silly but eagerly jumped up at the prospect of getting more seeds to put in his case. "Yes ma'am."

"What time is it Daddy?" Daphne asked her father as Neville and her mother left.

Callum pulled his pocket watch out and checked the time. "It is 3:15."

Daphne looked disappointed at hearing that. "It's almost time for you guys to leave."

"Don't worry Daph, we head back to school on Sunday so it won't be too long before we see each other again." Blaise said, absently twirling his wand through his fingers. He hated not being allowed to do magic over the holidays after months of practicing.

"I know, it's just been fun having you all here." Daphne sighed. "I'm glad you got to come."

"So are we. Thank you for inviting us." Hermione said and all of their friends nodded in agreement.

Neville and Elizabeth came back once they were done in the greenhouse and she shooed them into the house to make sure that they had packed all of their belongings. Boppy had packed up all of their extra jams for them and the kids found the boxes sitting neatly next to their individual bags when they entered their rooms.

The time finally came for the group of friends to leave so Daphne and her family led them back to the sitting room where they all said goodbye before beginning to go through the floo one by one. Hermione and Harry went one after the other again because Hermione was going with him to the Flamels, who would make sure that she got home ok.

When Hannah stepped through and disappeared with a wave Daphne turned to her family and gave them each a hug, making sure to give her father an extra squeeze. "Thank you for letting me have them all over and for being nice to all of them." This last part was directed more towards her father than anyone else and he knew it.

"You're welcome Petal and we meant what we said, they are more than welcome to come visit again. All of them." Callum said and smiled down at her.

"Thanks Daddy." She responded and gave him another hug before making her way towards her room. Astoria was quick to follow her big sister and the parents could hear her gushing all the way up the stairs about what excellent friends Daphne had.

* * *

 **A/N 2:** I am obviously not an expert on fireworks or making jam but I did do some research on both so as not to sound like a complete imbecile and I hope I at least got some things right.


	16. New Semester

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Daphne throws her first ever New Years Eve party and forces her father to re-evaluate his stance on Muggles and Muggle-borns when she asks to invite Hermione Granger.

 **A/N:** Hey guys, I am beyond sorry that this update is so late. I have been moving and had difficulty finding the time to sit down and write. This chapter is a bit rushed since I didn't want you to have to wait any longer so please excuse any mistakes you might find. Harry's first year is almost finished and I anticipate about 3 more chapters, including this one, before we wrap it up. Don't hold me to that because Christmas was originally supposed to be only one chapter and we see how well that turned out :D

* * *

Getting back into the swing of things once Harry and his friends got back to Hogwarts was much harder than they thought it would be. As nice as it was to get to see each other every day, waking up early and going to classes wasn't nearly as fun as Hermione made it seem. It was the first weekend of February when their studious friend finally put her foot down and drug Harry, and consequently Neville, to the library to finally try and complete their research for the report on the Dueling club.

"Come on then Harry, we have been neglecting this for far too long." Hermione said as she pulled him into one of the isles and began taking books down from the shelves to place in his arms.

When he felt he couldn't hold anymore, Harry stepped away and went to their normal table while Neville moved forward to take the rest of the books Hermione decided they might need.

"So lets go over what we have so far yeah?" Harry suggested when they joined him. "Actually, why don't you present it to Neville like you would Nell to see what he thinks since he doesn't know as much about it." They knew that their proposal didn't have to be perfect but there had been attempts at creating Dueling clubs in the past that hadn't worked out in the long run so they wanted to try and work out as many kinks as possible before presenting it. Harry had stumbled upon a very informative book called _A Brief History of Hogwarts' Clubs_ when they first got into their research that let them know what exactly to look for when creating their own club and that was what they had been working on all this time.

Hermione looked to Neville to see if he was all right with this and when he gave her an encouraging nod she took her parchment out and skimmed her notes and ideas for the club. "Ok, we would like to present to you our idea for a Dueling club, which we have decided to call the Dueling Association, or DA for short. The purpose of the DA's creation and its objectives is to teach students new spells as well as how to properly compete in tournament dueling, participate in honor duels, and how best to protect themselves if ever attacked. Membership will be open to all students, no matter what year, but they will not be considered a full member until they participate in their first official dual.

"It is recommended that meetings take place every Tuesday and Thursday in the evening for no longer than one hour to practice spells, dodging, aiming, and etiquette and a two hour meeting on Saturday or Sunday to perform practice duals. On the last weekend of each month a dueling competition will take place between the members that will be broken up by their skill level. If enough skill is shown, with the Sponsors and their parents permission, students may also apply to participate in the All-England Wizarding Dueling Competition held once a year at the beginning of July."

"Wow really?" Neville asked. The Dueling Competition was a pretty big deal since the winners were invited to compete in the World Championship Dueling Competition which was held in a different country every year.

"Yeah." Harry said and pulled a stack of parchment from his bag to hand to Neville. "We wrote to the British Dueling Association at the Ministry and they sent us a stack of application forms for the various age groups saying that they were always looking for more talent, especially competitors for the younger age groups since they had steadily been decreasing over the years. I think they were pretty excited to hear we were creating a Dueling club because they even offered to send someone to speak to the club once we got it up and running."

Neville looked through the forms and noticed there were three different age groups listed; ages 11-13, 14-17, and 17-19. "That's really neat and will probably be a big motivator for a bunch of the older students, particularly those looking to go into Auror training or become a Hit Wizard."

Harry nodded. "That's what we are hoping. This idea originally started because I wanted my friends to learn how to defend themselves but once Hermione and I started to really get into the research and everything it kind of grew into something more. Now it's more about teaching anybody and everybody how to defend themselves as well as to help them when they leave Hogwarts." He had yet to tell any of them about the prophecy or Voldemort but his friends had figured out that there had to be a specific reason he wanted them to be able to defend themselves and why Nell began training him like she had in the first place. They had actually discussed it several times while Harry had been at Quidditch practice and figured he would tell them when he was ready.

"There are going to be bylaws that everyone has to follow of course." Hermione said. "There are quite a few but I won't really go into them right now since Professors Flamel and Flitwick would still need to ok them first."

"What about officers? Are you going to have a President and stuff like that?" Neville enquired.

Hermione gave Harry a piercing look as she answered him. "I would really like us to have at least a President, Vice President, and Secretary for now and add on new positions as necessary. I have already volunteered for the Secretary position and have been trying to convince Harry to be the President since this was originally his idea and he does really well when helping to teach us so shouldn't have too much of a problem running the meetings."

Neville looked to his best friend. "Do you not want to be President Harry?"

Harry looked unsure of himself as he thought it over. "I don't know to be honest. I've never done anything like this before and I don't know how the older students would react if I was the one to run the meetings."

"Why don't you participate in the Dueling Competition this summer?" Hermione asked and both boys looked at her as if she were crazy. "What? We have been practicing dueling since we got back from the holidays but neither Neville nor I can seem to beat you." The frustration at this fact was evident in her voice but she was also proud of how well Harry had been doing and he truly seemed to enjoy their dueling sessions.

"You really think I could compete?" Harry asked, running a hand through his hair.

He had progressed by leaps and bounds since that first week of training and was now able to go 10 straight minutes dodging spells on the medium setting. Nell had upped the setting for all of them when they had come back from the holidays and now they were dodging 12 spells per minute vs the 6 before. Harry's numbers had dropped somewhat at first but he was now managing to dodge an average of 80 shots out of 120.

Neville and Hermione had of course gotten better than they were at the start too and all the exercise was beginning to show on Neville as he slowly lost his baby fat. They now held practice duels every Saturday while one of the others learned their spell of the week and Nell had told them they were doing very well for students who were still in first year.

"Of course, you're very good. You may even be able to get first place if you work hard enough." Hermione declared vehemently. "You should speak to Professor Flitwick, he is considered a Master Dualist and could probably help you prepare. Although, as good as she is, Professor Flamel might have competed at one time too so we can ask her about it as well."

Harry's cheeks went slightly pink. "Thanks Hermione but why wouldn't both of you try too? You have been doing it just as long as I have."

This caught his two friends on the hop and he grinned at their twin looks of surprise.

"I… I don't think I would do very good." Neville said lamely.

"Come on Nev, you would do great and if we all do it, it just might help us to gain some recognition amongst the students before we start the club." Harry encouraged.

Neville thought about it some more and realized that Harry wasn't just trying to help him boost his confidence but he also wanted his friends there beside him for support and Neville wasn't about to let his friend down. "Ok fine, we will both do it as long as Hermione participates too." He agreed and they both looked to the bushy-haired girl expectantly.

It didn't take nearly as long as they thought it would for her to crack. "Like I would let you two show me up." She said and threw her nose up in the air but couldn't hold it for long and began to giggle, which started Harry and Neville off too.

"Ok, now that that's established." Harry said once they had settled down. He pulled out his journal and flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. "I think I have an idea on how to organize the students based on the differences in skills and abilities between the lower and higher years."

"Oh good, I was beginning to think we would never sort that out." Hermione said and grabbed her notes so she could write down whatever Harry had come up with.

"What if we ask the British Dueling Association to send us a list of all of the designated spells that can be used in a duel and sort them into the appropriate year level. Each person would get a parchment with the spells listed and their skill level will be assessed based on the amount of spells they can perform from the parchment."

"How will we know which spells they are actually capable of casting without having them show us one by one?" Hermione asked. This had been their main issue from the beginning. Yes, they could simply split them up by year but it was obvious to anyone that paid attention that just because a student was in a higher year didn't necessarily mean they were good with magic and they wanted to make sure that those lower years that excelled had the opportunity to move up when possible.

"That's where that enchanted parchment you mentioned will come into play, though my idea is a bit different. We would have to speak with Nell if it's possible but I was thinking that we could imbed the Reverse Spell into the parchment and key the parchment directly to the individual members via their magical signature. Once that is done, all they would need to do is cast the spell then touch the parchment with their wand and incant Prior Incantato, at which point the parchment will automatically read the spell and that spell's ink will change from black to green on the parchment if they cast it correctly."

Neville and Hermione both stared at him in astonishment but Harry misread their expressions. "Does it sound that stupid? I can come up—"

"No!" Hermione shouted and immediately turned red at realizing what she had done, in the library no less. "Harry, the idea isn't stupid at all. In fact, it's beyond brilliant."

"You really think so?" Harry asked.

"Yes and it will actually make everything so much more simple. They can show that they know each spell and as they learn and complete the ones from each level they can participate in the higher level dueling competition at the end of the month and be promoted a level if they do well enough." Hermione suggested as she wrote down everything Harry had said.

"I really think you should become the President Harry." Neville spoke up. "Hermione would do well as Vice-President too."

"I'm going for Secretary remember? I will be keeping track of how well each member is doing, taking care of any research that needs to be done, as well as corresponding with the British Dueling Association about possible visits and potential applicants for the Dueling Competition." Hermione said.

"Oh right. So do you have anyone in mind for Vice-President then?" Neville asked and went pale when they both gave him a pointed look. "M… me? No way."

"I think you could actually do very well in the position." Hermione said matter of factly.

"What about one of the others? Surely there is someone more qualified." Neville pleaded. It wasn't just that he didn't think he was cut out to be a leader but also the fact that he could hardly talk to strangers without stuttering, though he had gotten much better since he had started school. Imagining trying to speak in front of a large group of people nearly had him hyperventilating.

"We thought about everyone in the group and you were the best candidate, especially considering you all ready know the basics of what we will be teaching. Daphne and Blaise wouldn't have the patience, Tracey wouldn't want the responsibility, Hannah would be too engrossed in her Healing internship, and Susan is much too shy at the moment to be able to run any meetings in the President's place." Harry explained.

When it still looked as if Neville would say no, Harry pressed further "It would also really help with your confidence Nev. There is no harm in at least trying and if you still don't like it after a few months we can see who else we could find."

Neville tried to think of another valid excuse for them not to choose him but came up empty. "Fine, but only if you take the President position Harry."

"If that's what it will take, then I accept." Harry said and grinned at both of them. "Now, were there any other issues that needed to be fixed for the report?"

Hermione looked through all of her notes again. "Huh, it doesn't seem like it. I thought we had more stuff to work out but looks like we are ready to give the report to Professor Flamel."

"So we didn't need any of these defense books after all?" Neville asked, eyeing the large stacks scattered about them.

"Well, we could go ahead and get started on our DADA homework and then go see Professor Flamel after dinner." Hermione suggested and dug into her bag for the journal Harry had gotten her for Christmas and some parchment.

The boys groaned but didn't really have anything else to do so pulled out their parchment to get started.

OoOoOoO

"What's the matter Harry?" Susan asked as she and Hannah walked into the common room and saw that he had buried himself beneath one of the very comfortable quilts that had been hanging off the back of the couch near the fire. He was sitting with Cedric drinking hot cocoa and looking very upset about something so they quickly sat on the small sofa next to him so they could thaw out from the freezing corridors beyond their sanctuary and find out what was wrong with their usually mellow friend.

"I just got back from visiting Jaidynn, Auris, and Kylina." He said forlornly and sipped his cocoa.

This confused both girls because while he would sometimes get upset at having to leave his familiar, Harry had never gotten this depressed after one of their visits.

"Did something happen?" Hannah asked.

Harry bit his lip as if to keep from crying and immediately grabbed onto something that was hanging around his neck. After a few deep breaths he seemed to calm down somewhat and the other three Puffs shared worried glances. "Auris said that another Unicorn had been killed and he wasn't sure it would be safe to come so close to the school to visit anymore. He thinks it might put Jaidynn and them in danger."

Both girls felt for the raven-haired boy since they knew how much those visits meant to him but they were somewhat confused so Susan asked to clarify. "Why would coming close to the school put them in danger?"

"Because the Unicorns they found dead were near the edges of the forest rather than deeper in. Nell also said it's because leaving the herd makes them an easy target for whoever is killing the Unicorns since they could just wait until the three of them are far enough away and attack them. Unicorns are fast but whoever is doing this is using some pretty heavy dark magic and since Jaidynn is still a foal she wouldn't be able to keep up with her parents if they needed to make a break for it."

Before anything more could be said, there was a loud distressed bark from the entrance of the common room and Hedwig came swooping in to land on Harry's shoulder, nuzzling his head and cooing softly. They were wondering how she had gotten in when Nick and Nell came down the stairs looking worriedly at Harry.

"Harry will you come with us to our quarters so we can talk please?" Nell asked in a soft voice.

"No!" Harry said loudly, startling everyone in the common room and causing all eyes to turn to him as he sunk more deeply into his cocoon. "You agreed with Auris and now I won't get to see Jaidynn for who knows how long. What if something happens to her and she thinks that I just abandoned her. What if they never catch who is doing this and then I won't get to see her ever again."

"You know this is for her protection more than anything else. Keeping Jaidynn near the herd will ensure that she is safe." Nick tried but knew that nothing they said at the moment would make Harry feel better. He was angry and only time would help him see reason.

Hedwig was sending massive waves of comfort down their bond, trying to help Harry calm down but all he could think about was Jaidynn's sad whinny and forlorn look as her parents led her away. "I don't want to talk to you. Leave me alone." He said petulantly, setting his cup of cocoa on the table in front of him.

"Harry—" Nell said but Harry stood abruptly and, without even looking at them or saying anything, left through the door to the boys dormitory.

Silence followed his exit and the student's watched the Flamels share a sad look before gazing around at them all.

"Shows over everyone, go back to what you were doing." Nick ordered and nobody even thought to disobey the normally kind Professor when he spoke to them with such steel in his voice.

"Professors?" Hannah spoke up hesitantly before they could turn around and leave.

"Yes Miss Abbot?" Nell said.

"Is Harry going to be all right? I've never seen him that upset before. I don't think any of us have, even when he went after Ron Weasley for being mean to Hermione." The little blond-haired girl enquired.

Nell gave her a small smile. "He will be ok once he has time to think everything over and calm down. He and Jaidynn may not be fully bonded yet but the link is still there and not being able to see each other for an extended period of time will be hard for both of them. Just be patient with him and maybe speak with your other friends just so they know what's going on. Perhaps after dinner since I don't think he will be up for our normal Sunday dinner."

"I'll bring him back something and make sure he at least eats a bit." Cedric volunteered and received appreciative looks from Nick and Nell.

"Thank you Mr. Diggory, that's very nice of you. Maybe just some hot soup and bread will be best." Nick said and Cedric nodded.

"Professors, it looked like Harry had something around his neck that helped him to calm down when he held onto it. Do you know what it was?" Susan asked.

"Yes, Miss Bones. When we went to Egypt over the summer we met a group of Native American witches and wizards. One of them was named Gabriel and he is considered a Shaman in their tribe and his magic manifests as soothing waves that help calm those around him. Before we left he revealed himself to be an eagle Animagus and gifted Harry one of his feathers on a necklace that emits the same calming magic. I don't think Harry has taken it off but a handful of times since he got it but he usually has it underneath his shirt." Nick explained.

"Is that why he always seems so laid back and rarely gets angry?" Hannah asked.

Nick and Nell looked thoughtful for a moment since they had never really thought about that.

"I suppose it might help but the majority of that would be just the way Harry is." Nell said. "We have to go speak with the Headmaster about what we found out but if Harry comes back out try not to speak about Jaidynn unless he brings it up himself. Maybe try distracting him with talk about your upcoming Quidditch match against Gryffindor."

All three nodded and thought that would be a good idea since Harry seemed to enjoy trading barbs with the Weasley twins on who would win. Rumor had it that Professor Vector, the new Head of Slytherin, had threatened the Slytherin Quidditch team with temporary disbandment if they didn't clean up their act out on the pitch. However, despite the amount of cheating and fouls they committed dropping significantly, Gryffindor had lost their match against Slytherin in November due to them not having been able to find a good replacement Seeker for Charlie Weasley, who had graduated the previous year, and they were determined to make up their loss by beating Hufflepuff on March 14th.

Hufflepuff was equally determined since they had just managed to defeat Ravenclaw in their first match by only 20 points so felt they needed to defeat Gryffindor by a wide margin in order to keep ahead for the Quidditch Cup.

Susan looked nervously towards the boys dormitories after the Flamels left. "Should we try to talk to him?"

"I think it's best if we leave him be for now, I'll try talking to him when I take him dinner." Cedric suggested and to try and take their minds off it he asked. "Have you two finished all of your homework for this week?"

"We finished everything with the study group yesterday except for our Potions homework." Hannah said.

"Would you like any help with it?"

"Sure." Hannah said, brightening somewhat. They stood up and made their way to an empty table.

"What does Professor Nick have you working on?"

Cedric helped the girls until it was time to go to dinner. They waited patiently for the older boy to go and see if Harry wanted to join them but were disappointed when he came back alone.

Tracey, Daphne, and Blaise—who had taken to sitting right behind their Hufflepuff friends so they could converse more easily during meals—noticed how quiet the two girls were during dinner so pulled them to the side as they were leaving the Great Hall. Hermione and Neville caught sight of them and joined them to see what was going on. Once they had all been updated, they began brainstorming to try and come up with a way they could help Harry feel better.

As Harry's friends were coming up with one outrageous idea after another, Cedric was knocking lightly on the door to Harry and Justin's room.

Harry was laying on his bed stroking Hedwig's chest as his familiar dozed off and on but didn't respond to the knock and hoped whoever it was would leave like they did earlier. He didn't want them to see his puffy blood shot eyes or hear his sniffling from the runny nose he got when he had started crying. The knock came again, this time louder, and Harry groaned into his pillow. "Come in." He finally said, his voice sounding muffled and far away.

Cedric hardly heard him but opened the door anyway and preceded into the room holding a tray with chicken noodle soup, some bread, and more hot cocoa. Rather than draw attention to himself by grabbing everything from the Great Hall, he had stopped off in the kitchens and the house-elves were happy to help him out. "Harry, I brought you some dinner."

"I'm not hungry." Came Harry's muffled reply.

Cedric walked over and set the tray on the bedside cabinet. "I won't leave until you eat at least some of it. I'll even sleep in here on the floor if you force me to." Cedric threatened.

Harry raised his head from his pillow and gave Cedric a disgruntled look.

The older boy could see that Harry had obviously been crying but chose not to say anything about it. "I know you're upset Harry but starving yourself won't solve anything."

There was no movement for a moment but then Harry decided that Cedric was serious about his threat so sat up properly in his bed, Hedwig moving to perch on his headboard. He went to grab the tray but Cedric beat him to it and placed it in his lap for him. With a mumbled 'thanks' Harry began eating as Cedric sat at the end of his bed.

"Are you feeling any better?" He enquired. It was plain to see that Harry wasn't but he thought it a good question to get the conversation started.

Harry gave him a look that told him just how stupid he thought that question was.

"Right." Cedric said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really." Harry grunted in between bites.

"Ok." The older boy sighed. "I'll leave you alone but I want you to think about something for me while you sit in here. I read up on true familiars after you told me about Hedwig, I read the same book as you in fact, and do you recall what happens when a witch or wizard's true familiar dies?" Cedric asked as he stood.

The book had been very informative on this bit and it had made Cedric shudder when he read the first hand experience of a witch whose true familiar had been killed by a dark wizard. She said that it had felt like the bond they shared was forcibly ripped from her mind and shredded beyond repair, leaving a gaping hole where it had once been. Learning to cope with that missing piece of herself had been difficult and even after 10 years she could still feel the loss.

Cedric knew he was being a bit harsh by bringing it up but he also remembered the part about how familiars would do anything to protect each other and would go through hell itself to get them back if their familiar was taken from them. He didn't want Harry doing anything reckless just to try and go see Jaidynn and he hoped that she wouldn't try and do the same thing for him. They may just be animals but the familiar bond went both ways and the same protectiveness and drive were there in the animal familiar just as much as it was the human one.

He turned to look at Harry and saw the boy staring at him in horror with tears streaming down his face.

"I'm sorry Harry." The older boy rushed out. "I was just trying to make you understand where the Professors and Jaidynn's parents are probably coming from. It's just like Professor Flamel said, you and Jaidynn may not have bonded yet but the link is still there. They are trying to protect you just as much as her because they know what would happen to you if something happened to her."

Cedric moved the tray back to the bedside cabinet and sat down next to Harry, who was now gripping what he thought was the feather Professor Nick had told them about in a death grip and nearly hyperventilating. ' _Maybe I should have kept my big mouth shut'_ Cedric thought as he pulled the boy into a hug.

Huge racking sobs tore from Harry as images of Jaidynn dead passed unbidden through his mind for several moments until Hedwig let out a very loud bark and her medallion began to glow.

' _Don't cry my Harry.'_ He heard a silvery feminine voice inside his head say before images of the time he had spent during Christmas and all of his other visits with the Unicorns flashed through his mind along with massive amounts of positive emotions. ' _We aren't going anywhere. Please don't cry.'_

Harry stopped crying at once but then began immediately hiccoughing. He ignored this though as he pulled away from Cedric and turned around to see Hedwig's medallion glowing. He got up onto his knees so that he was face to face with his familiar. "Was that you Hedwig?"

' _Yes my Harry. I can't hold it much longer though. You won't cry anymore?'_ Harry shook his head slowly as he stared at Hedwig in wonder. ' _Good, we won't leave you so don't worry. I love you.'_

 _"_ Harry?" Cedric asked into the silence.

"She spoke inside my head." Harry said and reached out to stroke his familiar's cheek. "I love you too Hed." He whispered to her and she nipped the tip of his nose lightly in affection.

"Hedwig spoke to you?"

Harry turned around to face Cedric, wiping his tears with a sleeve and plopping back down onto the bed. He was still upset that he wouldn't be able to see Jaidynn but some of the despair that he had been feeling had lifted. "I think it's the medallion. She must have pulled magic to strengthen the bond enough for her to be able to speak to me. She couldn't hold it for very long though."

Cedric bit his lip. "I'm sorry what I said upset you like that Harry. I didn't mean for it to."

"It's ok Cedric, it wasn't just you saying that. I had been laying here thinking along the same lines and you saying it made it seem so much more real that before I knew it, thoughts of Jaidynn dying just kind of consumed me and I panicked. It still hurts that I won't get to see her for a while but it's not nearly as bad as it was." Harry admitted.

"That's good to hear. I'll leave you alone now, but if you want to come out of your room, I know your friends are pretty worried about you." Cedric said as he stood up again.

Harry looked a bit guilty as he remembered the way he had acted towards Nick and Nell in front of everyone but a part of him was still mad at them for letting Auris take Jaidynn from him, no matter how reasonable their reasons for doing so.

Cedric left and Harry lay back down, Hedwig hopping down next to him so she could nuzzle up close to his head. His crying jag had wiped him out even though it hadn't been that long and before he knew it, Harry had fallen fast asleep. He was so deep in sleep that he didn't even stir when a house-elf popped in to take the tray of food, only to see that Harry had fallen asleep on top of his covers so pulled them gently from under him and tucked him in with a snap of her fingers. He didn't even notice Cedric poke his head in an hour later to check on him or hear Justin make his way cautiously into the room to start getting ready for bed himself.

OoOoOoO

The next few days were a bit solemn for Harry and his friends. Though he had apologized to Nick and Nell, he was still somewhat depressed and nothing his friends had tried to cheer him up seemed to work.

It was Wednesday afternoon about an hour before dinner and he and Ron were currently playing a game of wizard chess in the Great Hall with Neville sitting off to the side watching them while eating an apple from the bowl of fruit that had appeared on the table when they sat down. These had replaced the plates of biscuits that appeared between meals when students sat at the table per Professor Bennet's request since fruit was much healthier than them consuming massive amounts of biscuits `every day.

It had taken some time but Ron had finally taken Hermione aside and mumbled out a nearly intelligible sentence to her around Christmas time, which she had managed to decipher and deduce that Ron was apologizing for the things he had said about her at Halloween; in his own way of course. It was also rumored that he had gotten an earful from his mother about his abysmal grades the previous semester and so he had also broken down and joined their study group so that he could get help with his homework but made a show of staying as far away as possible from the Slytherins.

Harry had hardly spoken to the temperamental red-head during their time at Hogwarts except for during studying and the one time he approached Harry to thank Sirius for him for the new owl he had gotten him. Sirius had been true to his word on getting Ron whatever new pet he wanted to replace Scabbers and the Gryffindor had asked for an owl of all things. Considering he despised writing home, according to Hermione and Neville, Harry couldn't fathom as to why he had asked for one but figured Ron would be too lazy to care for a cat and wouldn't be caught dead with a toad.

The distance Ron had tried to keep from Harry since their run-in on Halloween was forgotten however when Neville mentioned to him that Harry had received a brand new chess set for Christmas so he had cornered Harry and asked if he wanted to break it in by playing a few games since he apparently couldn't find any worthy competition in his own house. Harry very much doubted he was any better than the other students but figured playing Ron would help up his game so he would hopefully be somewhat of a challenge the next time he played Nick.

The chess set that the old Alchemist had gotten him was in the shape of magical creatures, which he thought were much cooler than the traditional pieces, so they weren't able to spout out unnecessary 'advice' but if they felt he was making a bad move they would stomp angrily around their square before reluctantly moving. The pieces consisted of a Dragon king, Phoenix queen, Centaur knights, Unicorn bishops, Griffon rooks, and Mooncalf pawns.

He wondered why a class XX like the Mooncalf was mixed in with creatures class XXX and higher but found it amusing when they took a piece by jumping up, surprisingly high for their short legs, and kicked the opposing piece in the chest, causing them to topple over.

"You know, you should challenge Nick to a game." Harry suggested as Ron's knight took one of his Mooncalf pawns.

"Yeah? He any good?" Ron asked without really thinking.

Harry cracked a smile and directed his own Centaur knight to take one of Ron's bishops. "Considering he has been playing for most of his life, I would say he is very good."

Ron was kept from answering by the arrival of Malfoy, followed by Crabbe and Goyle.

Giving a large sigh, Harry looked to the three new arrivals. "What do you want Malfoy?"

He and his friends had had to put up with Malfoy's constant taunts throughout the school year and he was honestly tired of it, especially the past few days. Malfoy had gotten wind of what had happened with Jaidynn and Harry had very nearly punched him in the face when the blond git had insulted her just to get a rise out of him. Blaise and Neville had managed to stop him from possibly breaking Malfoy's nose but the Slytherin had realized what had almost happened and threw out one more barb before scurrying away.

"Don't think I didn't notice that you wanted to hit me the other day Potter. I was wondering if you wanted to settle our grievances with a wizard dual?" Malfoy said with a smirk.

"I really don't think you're worth the time but if you want to have a dual then I'm game." Harry replied cooly. Nell had of course taught him all about duals, then he had learned even more during his and Hermione's research and he knew perfectly well that treating Malfoy as less than threatening would get the prats ire up.

Malfoy bristled. "Fine, at midnight in the trophy room. Wands only and no contact."

Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes at hearing that, causing Ron to snicker. "If you think I'm going to stay up late just so you can try and get me in trouble for being out after curfew then you can forget it." Then Harry remembered what day it was. "Besides, I have Astronomy tonight."

"Scared Potter?"

"No, just not an idiot. If you want to dual then right here and now works for me. Considering it's a non-formal dual and we are only 11 we wont need to sign a waiver but we would need a judge who is of age."

"I'll be your second Harry." Neville volunteered.

"Thanks Nev."

"I don't accept the change in time and location," Malfoy argued, going slightly red in the face. He had heard that Professor Flamel had been giving Harry extra lessons and though his father had taught him a few spells before starting school, Malfoy knew that he probably wouldn't be able to beat Harry in a fair dual.

"Then consider the dual canceled. If we are done here, I am kind of in the middle of a chess game." Harry said dismissively. If Malfoy had come up to him and issued the same challenge a week ago, Harry might have taken him up on the offer but after the week he had been having, he simply wasn't in the mood to deal with the blond.

Before Malfoy could respond, Hermione came running into the Great Hall with an excited smile on her face. She brushed past Malfoy and his goons without acknowledging them and sat down to Harry's left. "Harry! Professor Flamel just gave this to me and told me to come find you before I open it. I think it's the results for the Dueling club."

Harry spared Ron an apologetic look before turning his attention to Hermione. "Well go on then, lets have a look."

"This isn't over Potter." Malfoy snarled before stomping off with a scowl but he was thoroughly ignored.

Hermione looked nervous as she flipped the rolled up parchment around in her hands, it had been a little over a month since they handed Nell their finished report and they had been growing more anxious by the day to hear whether they had the go ahead. "What if Professor McGonagall said no?"

"Was Nell smiling when she gave it to you?" The girl nodded. "Then I doubt she said no but we won't know for sure unless you open it." Harry said reasonably.

"You're right." Hermione said, taking a deep breath and unfolding the parchment to read it. She squealed in delight and threw her arms around Harry, nearly bouncing in her seat she was so happy.

"I take it she said yes." Harry said and took the parchment she handed to him so he could read it for himself.

 _Dear Mr. Potter and Miss Granger,_

 _I hereby approve of your proposal to start a Dueling club next year. Professors Flamel and Flitwick have already expressed their desire to sponsor the club for you but because Professor Flitwick already sponsors the Charms club, he will be acting as co-sponsor with Professor Flamel as full sponsor._

 _Please arrange a meeting with either Professor to go over preparations for your first meeting, determine for sure which days the club will take place on, and establish club officer positions and responsibilities. I am quite impressed with the amount of research you put into starting the club and heartily approve of you allowing all students to join, no matter their house, and look forward to seeing what you are able to accomplish._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

"Excellent." Harry said excitedly giving her his first genuine smile that week.

Hermione stood up, pulling on his arm. "We should go ask Professors Flamel or Flitwick when we can meet with them to go over everything."

Harry very nearly jumped up to leave with her before he remembered Ron. "Hang on Hermione, Ron and I were playing a game of chess before Malfoy came and interrupted us." He said and turned back to the red-head.

Ron grinned at him. "It's all right mate, you would have lost in 6 moves anyway."

Harry laughed at that and began gathering up his chess pieces to put in their carrying case. "I don't doubt it, till next time." He said and turned to Neville. "You want to come with us?"

"Sure. See ya Ron." Neville said, standing to follow his friends.

Ron gave him a dismissive wave as he began resetting his pieces and filling the other side of the chess board with his remaining set so he could activate the board's one player function. This would allow him to keep playing against a semi-opponent since the opposing pieces would move themselves. This function was best used with older chess pieces that had seen plenty of games since that gave them the experience to play more thought out strategies and precise tactics.

The trio were talking enthusiastically to each other as they turned the corner to get to the Grand Staircase when they saw spell fire coming at them from off to their right. Their training kicked in and all three dropped to the ground, the spells missing them by mere inches, then rolled out of the way as they saw another set of spells coming their way.

Harry and Neville sprang to their feet with their wands drawn, Hermione joining them only a few seconds later. At a glance they saw that the corridor was nearly empty but then they noticed Malfoy with his goons sequestered in an alcove, pointing their wands at them with surprised looks on their faces.

Harry and his friends opened their mouths to fire a Disarming Charm each when an angry voice yelled, "Halt!"

Everyone froze and looked to the side to see a furious Professor Flitwick standing at the bottom of the Grand Staircase.

Malfoy lowered his wand only to step forward and attempt to get his version of the story out before the others. "They started it Professor, we—"

He was cut-off with a loud bark of, "Quiet!" from Flitwick as he made his way toward them. He looked to Harry, Neville, and Hermione and noticed that while they had lowered their wands, they were watching the three Slytherins carefully. "I saw perfectly well what happened here Mr. Malfoy and I do not appreciate you lying to me. That will be 5 points from each of you for using magic in the corridors, 5 points for each spell you fired, and another 5 from you Mr. Malfoy for lying to a Professor. All three of you will also serve a detention with me Saturday afternoon."

"But the Quidditch match is this Saturday." Malfoy whined.

"A match you will miss for your cowardly attack on your fellow students." Flitwick snapped.

Malfoy seemed ready to argue but one look at the charms professor and he wisely closed his mouth, spun around, and walked off.

"That was some very good dodging you three." Flitwick said once Malfoy was out of earshot and the few people that had come upon them and stopped to watch events unfold had dispersed.

"Thanks Professor. Malfoy had tried to get me in trouble by challenging me to a dual at midnight but I didn't really expect him to attack us like that when I refused." Harry said, re-sheathing his wand.

"It was a cowardly move and one that will no doubt make its circulation around the school. Mr. Malfoy probably did more damage to his reputation with that stunt than if he had lost to you in a fair dual."

"We were actually coming to find you Professor." Hermione spoke up, determined not to let anything deter them from their original plans. "We received the letter from Professor McGonagall about the club and were wanting to know when we might be able to meet to talk about it."

Flitwick thought about it for a moment. "Why don't we meet on Sunday with Professor Flamel present. I am very interested in this enchanted parchment that she mentioned you came up with."

Harry and Hermione blushed. Nell had been ecstatic when they had told her the idea for the enchanted parchment and promised that she would come up with a way to make it work if it was the last thing she did. She also wanted to experiment and see if she would be able to put in some kind of alert spell on it so that they would know if one member attempted to cast the spell for another member.

"Thank you Professor. We were also thinking about signing up for this years Dueling Competition and were wondering if you might be willing to help us make sure we are prepared." Hermione said.

"Oh, that is wonderful news! My old friend Nathaniel Stoke with the British Dueling Association has been moaning that they haven't had nearly as many competitors lately for the 11-13 age group as they would like."

"Mr. Stoke is actually the one we have been corresponding with the past few months. He said he would be willing to come and speak to the club and watch some of the duels that we have if we were interested." Harry said.

Flitwick nodded his head excitedly. "I would suggest you take him up on his offer. It would also be a good idea to invite Professor McGonagall to a meeting or two to speak about using Transfiguration in a dual. She may not have participated in any official duals but she has seen battle. A perfect example of using her craft in a fight would be her attack on the troll at Halloween."

Hermione's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea! I'll be sure to ask her sometime before school lets out." She said and pulled her journal out to jot down the suggestion.

"Be warned however that using Transfiguration during a dual versus a classroom setting is vastly different. It is usually not recommended for students to use it in a dual unless they are 5th or 6th year and above since it takes much more time and concentration." Flitwick lectured them lightly.

"That makes sense." Harry said thinking back to all of their Transfiguration classes and how difficult it could be to get the desired result even after practicing for a full class period. Hermione was much better than Harry or Neville and he was confident that she probably wouldn't have any problem incorporating Transfiguration into her dueling repertoire when they got older whereas he and Neville would need to wait and see how they progressed in the coming years.

"I will speak with Professor Flamel at dinner to see if she will allow me to sit in on some of your training classes. Now if you will excuse me, I was on my way to the Staff Room before dinner." Flitwick said and gave them a small wave as he walked off.

"Of course, thank you again Professor." Hermione said then turned to Harry and Neville once he had left. "Isn't this great?! Oh, I'm so excited for next year."

"Are you three all right?" A familiar voice asked. The three turned around to see Daphne, Blaise, and Tracey coming hurriedly toward them.

Harry looked confused at Daphne's question. "Yes. Why wouldn't we be?"

"We just heard Malfoy talking to Crabbe and Goyle in the dungeons about ambushing you three." Blaise answered as he and Daphne came to a stop in front of them and Tracey began circling them, looking for injuries.

Neville snorted and told them all about what had happened with Malfoy from the time he came into the Great Hall to when he stormed off in a huff.

"That little git." Daphne fumed.

"Don't worry about it Daphne, they didn't even manage to hit any of us despite having the element of surprise." Harry said as Hedwig swooped in and landed on his shoulder. She had been especially attentive since Sunday and would appear out of nowhere to nuzzle and send feelings of love down their link whenever she pleased. If the professors disapproved of her showing up in the middle of class just to perch on his shoulder and preen his hair then they didn't say so in front of Harry. He also found, to his amusement that his familiar found History of Magic just as boring as he did and would entertain him with images of her flights across country or the happy faces of Sirius and Luna whenever she delivered his letters to them.

"Still, to think he would just hide in the shadows for a sneak attack and then not even manage to hit any of you with a spell. He gives us Slytherins a bad name." Blaise said with disdain.

"Don't worry Blaise, we consider Malfoy and his goon squad to be in a category all their own. I've come to the conclusion that the Sorting Hat only put them in Slytherin because they wouldn't fit into any of the other houses and though they really don't embody all of the traits that typically make up a Slytherin, their background made it easier to sort them there in the end than say Hufflepuff, which is wrongly thought to be where all the cast-offs end up." Hermione said this last bit with a roll of her eyes since that was all her fellow Gryffindors seemed to talk about the first couple weeks of school after Harry was sorted there. They seemed to think that he should have been destined for Gryffindor since he somehow defeated Voldemort when he was a baby; like he had had any control over what had happened in the first place.

"You're in the majority then." Tracey spoke up. "Most everyone just seems to lump us together as if we aren't each an individual person but just one gigantic future dark witch/wizard."

"That's so not fair." Hermione griped. "We have met all of the first years and except for Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson you all just mind your own business; going to classes and doing your homework. Though Millicent Bulstrode, Isabella Lancaster, and Theodore Nott are still sort of an enigma since they don't really venture out too much other than to join the study group."

"Nott is a bit upity and prefers to keep his own company most of the time but he is also pretty brilliant. Isabella isn't bad though she likes to hang out with her older sister, who is in 4th year, most of the time so we don't see her all that often. As for Milli, well, I think she is having a hard time deciding whether she wants to follow Parkinson and her ilk or if she should take the plunge and try mingling with Tracey, Blaise, and I. We have tried to reach out to her because we know that Parkinson makes fun of her a lot for the way she looks but she reads it as us just feeling sorry for her and her pride won't allow her to accept our friendship if she believes that that's the only reason it's being offered." Daphne explained.

"We're still trying though." Tracey said almost conspiratorially. "Hearing some of the things Parkinson says about her, we do feel bad for her but that isn't our only reason for trying to befriend her. She seems pretty mean looking and it's rather difficult to get her to open up but when she does she can be super nice and even kind of girly."

"I haven't actually talked to her a whole bunch but let her know that she is welcome to join us for studying outside of the study group or whatever if she ever feels like it." Harry offered and looked around at the others to make sure they agreed. He knew a thing or two about being made fun of thanks to Dudley and it could be pretty awful to have to endure when you thought you didn't really have a choice.

Blaise smirked when he saw the others nod. "We might just do that Harry. She may not turn down an invitation if we mention that it's from the famed Boy-Who-Lived."

Harry went slightly pink in embarrassment. It had taken months for the student population to settle down enough that he no longer heard their whisperings about him or caught them pointing at him in the hallways as he walked past. Thankfully he didn't have to put up with random people trying to come up and shake his hand or hug him like he did when he ventured out into Diagon Alley the second time around and someone had shouted out his name in excitement after they recognized him. It kind of went downhill from there and Nick and Nell had broken up the large crowd that had surrounded them but made sure Harry stayed close the rest of their trip. It was still a shock to see for himself just how many people knew of him and thought him some sort of celebrity.

His friends chuckled at his uneasiness but before they could tease him any more a bell rang throughout the school to let them know that dinner was now being served. As they made their way back towards the Great Hall, Hermione took pity on Harry and to keep the others from continuing their teasing, she excitedly began telling the Slytherins that they had gotten permission from Professor McGonagall to start the Dueling club.


	17. When in Doubt, Prank it Out

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

 **Previous Chapter Summary:** Harry and Hermione finalize their preparations for their Dueling Club and are granted permission to begin the club starting their second year. Harry is devastated when he is told that he won't be able to see his Familiar Jaidynn until they have caught the culprit responsible for killing Unicorns.

 **A/N:** I know this chapter is beyond late and I am deeply sorry for that. It fought me every step of the way and I had a most difficult time finding the words to write it but finally managed. We are almost to the end of first year and I sincerely hope the next chapter comes a bit easier to me than this one did. Thank you all for your patience and for reading my story, you are the best.

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Harry did not allow Malfoy's attack on him and his friends go without retaliation. He did however wait a week or two for the gossip to die down before he enacted his payback on the Slytherin. During that time, he persuaded Blaise and Tracey to get caught up in the prank he was about to pull so as to help throw suspicion off of himself since most people wouldn't think that he would pull a prank on his own friends. Tracey agreed right away but it took some bribery on Harry's part in the form of a new potions book that had just come out to convince Blaise to go along with it.

It took some early mornings of scouting out the Great Hall as well as keeping an eye on Malfoy and his goons to verify that they did actually sit in the same places every meal before he was reasonably satisfied that his plan would work. He also finally decided to play his prank on April 1st, mostly because the Weasley twin's birthday was on that day and rumor had it that they liked to up their pranks in order to celebrate not just their birthday, but April Fools Day as well, and Harry thought it would be a perfect cover.

Waking up at 6:00AM was no fun but Harry got dressed quickly and quietly, grabbed his invisibility cloak, and threw it on before making his way silently out of the dorms and common room. He walked into the Great Hall only 5 minutes later and nodded his head in satisfaction. During his scouting he had learned that the plates and goblets appeared on the tables between 6:00 and 6:30 and was glad to see that the house-elves were on it today as he looked at the gold sparkling along the tables.

Going to the end of the Slytherin table closest to the High Table, he counted the plates until he got to the one that Malfoy usually sat at. Harry pulled a potion phial and small brush from his pocket, opened the phial and dipped the brush in before reaching out and coating the rim of Malfoy's goblet with the light purple potion. Once done with that one, he turned and did the same with Parkinson's, Blaise's, and a few second year Slytherin's goblets. Since they would only be getting a taste of the potion and not the entire bottle, the effects would only last 30 minutes to an hour but that was fine with Harry since the second half of the prank would last at least 5 to 6 hours.

After stoppering the phial, cleaning the brush, and putting them both back into his pocket Harry pulled a small box of various colored sweets out. The next few minutes was spent placing a sweet at the bottom of various goblets before hitting them with a Color Changing Charm to turn them gold, making them difficult to see unless you were specifically looking for them. Both Sirius and Remus had assured him that the sweets would still work if dissolved in liquid when he had enquired but that the effects would be lessened to a degree once diluted so they wouldn't last the normal 12 hours.

Finally finished setting up his pranks, Harry dashed back to his room, put his pyjamas back on, and hid both prank items under his bed on a small ledge in the corner of the left upper leg just in case. After making sure he hadn't woken Justin, Harry lay back down for about 40 minutes until his roommate began to stir. Once Justin had seen that he was 'asleep' Harry got up again and began to get ready for the day, meeting Susan and Hannah in the common room around 7:15 so they could walk to the Great Hall together.

Both girls gave him knowing smirks when he approached and he let out an exasperated huff. "It's bad enough that you know what I did but do you really have to be so transparent about it? If you look at me like that once the prank is done then everybody will know it was me."

Susan giggled while Hannah gave a very un-ladylike snort as they led him out into the basement hallway but they did promise not to even look in his direction when they got to the table and Harry had to be happy with that.

Walking into the Great Hall for the second time that morning, Harry could see that the first year Slytherins had arrived and were just sitting down but the second years, who had Astronomy the night before, had yet to make it. Daphne, Blaise, and Tracey all saw them and gave them a wave but had enough sense not to give him any knowing looks. Sitting down at their normal spots across from their Slytherin friends, Harry sort of wished that they sat at the opposite side of the table so he could see Malfoy's face the moment he realized what was happening but had to be content with simply hearing it instead.

It didn't take very long before there were shouts of surprise and laughter coming from behind them and the three turned around. Malfoy was now sporting neon pink hair and trying not to laugh at Crabbe's bright blue since his normally drawling voice was sounding just a bit too high pitched and feminine.

"Draco!" Pansy exclaimed but stopped in horror as her own voice came out as deep and grating. She immediately went red in embarrassment and refused to say another word, instead, tried pointing to Malfoy's head but the prat was taking too much delight in her discomfort to pay attention to what she was trying to tell him.

Tracey brought out a handheld mirror and giggled in delight at her requested violet colored hair before Blaise took it from her.

"Hey Malfoy." He said in a melodious voice and held the mirror out to his fellow housemate with a smirk.

Malfoy finally realized that it wasn't just his voice that had changed and the smile was immediately wiped from his face. He snatched the mirror out of Blaise's hand so he could get a closer look at his hair. Once he had had his fill, he threw it back across the table, stood up, and stormed from the Great Hall with his friends in tow.

Harry laughed along with everyone else and knew they would no doubt be going to Mr. Snape, who Malfoy bragged none stop was a good friend of his father's, to have him fix them. On the back of the box of Rainbow Haired Confections, one of the pranks Sirius had gotten him for Christmas, it had a warning label that said quite clearly that if one attempted to cancel the effect before the time was up, the color would get more and more bright every time they tried. He couldn't wait to see what their hair looked like later.

The Pitch Switch potion, yet another prank from Sirius, obviously switched the drinkers voice to male or female depending on your gender and it also couldn't be canceled until it wore off on its own.

Having made sure to spread the pranks out between the first and second years, Harry had also managed to get Lancaster, whose normally black hair was lime green, though she didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

Professor Vector had come down from the High Table by this time to see what the ruckus was and stopped in bewilderment when she caught sight of Tracey and Lancaster's hair. She went over and was whispering quietly to them and Blaise while Daphne sat off to the side smirking at her two friends. She had point blank refused be a part of the prank and promised Harry bodily harm if he got her with either so he had made doubly sure that he skipped her seat when setting up.

Tracey was now arguing with Vector, who had pulled her wand to try and cancel the effect on her hair, since she knew what would happen if she tried but told the professor that she didn't want her violet hair gone yet. Vector finally left her alone with a shake of her head and attempted to help Lancaster with hers, only to stop and look from her wand to the girl's hair several times when the green went just a shade brighter instead of going back to normal. Catching on quickly to what would happen were she to continue, Vector whispered to Lancaster and turned to Blaise when she got a slight nod in return.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to cancel it anyway, Blaise let Vector have at it until she was satisfied that she wouldn't be able to help him either. Not being able to help her first years was frustrating but Vector finally admitted defeat and told them that they would just have to wait for the effects to wear off and headed back to the High Table without checking the other goblets, to Harry and his friends delight.

The scene was somewhat repeated once the second years made it down for breakfast, though the ones affected took it a bit better than Malfoy had and nobody dramatically stormed out of the Great Hall.

Harry knew that the prank had been somewhat mild compared to the other stuff that was in the box Sirius had given him but he didn't want to start out with anything big in case he got caught, considering how inexperienced he was at pulling pranks. The day was off to a flyer for him and the gang and it was with laughs and giggles that they made their way to their first class of the day.

Nick and Nell suspected that he had had something to do with the prank since they had gone through the large box Sirius had gotten him with him to make sure there was nothing inappropriate and recognized the two prank items but they chose not to say anything. Fred and George had not actually executed the prank but had no problem taking the blame for it when given the opportunity even though most believed it to be a bit too mild for their tastes, especially considering it was their birthday.

Sirius sent him a letter in reply to the one Harry had sent to let him know how the prank had worked out and congratulated him on managing to get so many students and for not getting caught. Harry had noted a bit more cheerfulness in his godfather's letters since he had been checked out of St. Mungo's shortly after Valentines Day after promising to visit his Mind Healer every other week as well as finishing up the potion regimen his Healer set for him for another two months. According to Sirius, his ancestral home was still in a bit of disrepair despite Remus' non-stop work to get it tidied up but he hoped it was safe enough for Harry to visit come the Easter holidays and Harry couldn't wait.

OoOoOoO

"What's that you go there Pup?" Sirius asked as he sat next to Harry in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place and began piling massive amounts of food onto his plate for breakfast. His Healer had been disappointed that Sirius hadn't been gaining as much weight as he thought he should during his last check-up and so had prescribed another months worth of his regular potions along with a variation of the one Harry had been made to take that would boost his metabolism dramatically while also helping to build muscle and store good fat. The potion was designed for adults, he could only take it every other day and for no longer than a month so as not to do long term damage to his body and it made him almost ravenous when he sat down to eat meals, even with heavy snacking throughout the day.

It was the last full day of the Easter holidays and Harry was the only one of his friends to have left Hogwarts for them, specifically so he could spend time with his godfather and Remus, who Sirius had begun referring to as Harry's backup godfather when he noticed how well the two got along. Harry had been a bit hesitant of the idea at first since he had only spent time with Sirius for a combined total of three hours but all of the adults and even his friends had rallied together to convince him to get out of the castle as Harry had been getting slightly more melancholy the more time went by that he couldn't see Jaidynn.

Hedwig had even tried helping by visiting the Unicorn foal and letting Harry view the memory as it was happening but as much as he appreciated the gesture, it just wasn't the same and had actually made him feel worse about the situation.

Despite deciding to stay at the school during the holiday, Nick and Nell were making daily trips back and forth every day, mostly to check on him but also because Nell was assisting both men with decoration ideas for the house since they had managed to clean up the majority of it except for the top most floor and the attic, where they had stored all the dark objects they had come across.

According to Remus, there were so many dark objects just laying around the house that instead of dealing with them one by one, he and Sirius had decided to simply throw them in the attic until they could get a trusted Curse Breaker to come take a look at them.

Harry looked up from the letter he was reading with an expression that seemed unable to decide whether to settle on horror or humor. "It's a letter from my friend Tracey…"

"Oh ho! Receiving letters from girls are we?" Sirius interrupted and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Harry just rolled his eyes as his godfather continued to stuff his face since this wasn't the first, second, or even fifth time Sirius had alluded to the fact that Harry had so many friends who were girls. "Read this." He said and held the letter out to Sirius.

 _Hiya Harry!_

 _You won't believe what we stumbled upon while wandering about on the grounds this afternoon! So we were just walking around chatting, minding our own business and just as we were passing Hagrid's hut we heard this almighty crash from inside and Hagrid began yelling at someone called Norbert. Naturally, we went to go have a peak to make sure Hagrid was ok and to see just what the bloody heck was going on and would you believe that we saw a real life dragon inside the man's hut?! A DRAGON! I'm still freaking out about it._

 _Well long story short, Hermione practically barged into the hut, the bloody Gryffindor, to ask about the dragon and then gave the man a lecture about trying to raise it, in a wooden house no less, before demanding he get rid of it before it gets loose and hurts a student. It was kind of strange seeing such a large man nearly start crying while trying to cuddle a dragon practically the size of a horse at the same time. I felt kind of bad for Hagrid until Norbert, the dragon's name if you can believe it, walloped Blaise in the leg rather hard with his tail and Hagrid started chastising Blaise about scaring the 'poor thing'. We left pretty quickly after that and Neville and I had to help support Blaise all the way to the Hospital Wing since whenever he tried to put pressure on his leg it would give out entirely (Trainee Healer Brad muttered something about a dead leg, whatever that means). He is fine but Madam Pomfrey said he would have a nasty bruise on his thigh for at least two days, even with the liberal use of Bruise Paste, and he has to walk with a cane until it can support him properly._

 _We haven't told anyone about what we saw yet but none of us really think it's a good idea to keep quiet about it for too long. I'm pretty sure it was a Norwegian Ridgeback and those things can get pretty nasty. Maybe Nick or Nell could come up with a way to help him get rid of it without him getting in trouble?_

 _Cheers,_

 _Tracey_

 _P.S. Could you please send Nell back with your camera so that I can get a picture of Blaise using his cane in case he decides to stop before you come back tomorrow? He tries to act all aristocratic and snooty when he walks but you should see him trying to get up and down the stairs in a dignified manner, he has nearly fallen a dozen times already. The prat actually asked Nick to transfigure the plain brown wooden one he was given to dark green with a silver dragon shaped handle and has already whacked Malfoy in the shin with it when the little git tried to make fun of him._

 _P.S.S. If you could bring back some Honeydukes chocolate for everybody since you are the only one that left for the holidays and because what our parent's/guardians gave us isn't nearly enough (we already finished it to be honest), I may consider not asking you for any more favors for at least a month. No promises though._

Sirius chuckled at the post scripts. "I want to meet this Tracey girl. She seems like she has a nice sense of humor."

"We find out that Hagrid is trying to raise a dragon in his hut and that's all you have to say?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Well, that is pretty standard Hagrid behavior to be honest." Sirius said as he handed the letter back to his godson. "He has always been fascinated with dangerous creatures and the more dangerous the better. There was even a rumor in my 7th year that he was raising a Cerberus in the Forbidden Forest."

"A Cerberus?"

"Giant three-headed dog. They are native to Greece and pretty rare these days so I'm not sure how he would have gotten his hands on one if the rumors were true." Sirius said with a shrug as if he hadn't just told Harry there might be a three-headed monstrosity running around the Forbidden Forest, the very same forest that sat next to the school full of children that he just happened to attend 9 months out of the year.

"How has nobody been killed at Hogwarts?" Harry asked weakly.

"It's a miracle if you ask me." Nell said, walking into the kitchen to join them at the table.

Remus was right behind her with the parchment and quill he had used to jot down her many suggestions on decorations as he followed her from room to room throughout the house.

Nell poured herself a cup of tea and reached for a scone. "Honestly, some of the things Albus is letting go on at that school would have seen him sacked ages ago if he weren't Albus bloody Dumbledore. I seriously think he may be developing dementia."

Sirius wrinkled his nose. "Sounds Muggle."

Remus hit him lightly on the arm as he sat next to his friend. "Just because you don't know what it means doesn't automatically mean something is Muggle." He chastised. "Dementia is a sort of mental disorder that can occur in old age whether a person is Muggle or Magical, though it usually takes longer to develop in Magicals given our longer life span. It's pretty serious. Do you really think Albus might have it Nell?"

"His inability to make logical decisions these past years is only one of the symptoms so that isn't really enough to determine for sure. He is quite old but since he isn't showing any other prominent signs I'm hesitant to bring it up to him or any of the staff. Even if he doesn't have it I believe it would be better if he gave up at least one of his three positions and focused more on the other two." Nell said.

"I would definitely wait and see if any of the other symptoms begin to emerge before voicing the idea to anyone else. As far as convincing him to give up any of his positions, I can only say good luck with that." Remus chuckled and raised his teacup slightly in salute before taking a sip.

Nell huffed but knew the man was right, it would take some heavy convincing to get Albus to relinquish any of his titles but she seriously believed that it would be better for everyone, especially him, if he did so. "At least he is open to fixing things if or when they are brought up as long as you're determined to argue with him a bit about it. Which I fully intend to do at the next staff meeting about the History of Magic class."

Harry perked up at hearing this. History of Magic was his least favorite subject despite the fact that the entire class could, and usually did, sleep through the entire thing and it would be nice to actually learn something properly for once.

"You can always count on Binns to help you get caught up on your sleep." Sirius said.

"I snuck into one of the classes under Dissilusionment one day and it wasn't even five minutes before half the class had their heads down on their desks and I actually heard snoring." Nell said with a frown. "It was so boring and Binns' voice so monotone that I could hardly concentrate on the subject matter myself."

"Tell me about it, we had to get Remus to tutor us so that we could pass our O.W.L.S and while none of us chose the class for our N.E.W.T years, he studied it independently and managed to get an O."

"Did he now?" Nell asked and gave Remus a calculating look. She had watched him these past few days, helping to train Sirius back up since he was rather rusty due to not being able to practice magic for ten years.

Catching the two men allowing Harry to do magic with them despite the underage law showed her that while Sirius' spell work was all about shock and awe, Harry's was more calculated and he did his best to make each spell count. Remus had noticed this in the boy right away and taught them using different methods that would play to each of their strengths.

That topped with his easy going manner, she felt confident that she had a suitable replacement for Binns' inevitable departure. Now she just had to convince him to go for it as well as figure out an iron clad contract should anyone find out he was a Werewolf. Deciding to speak to him later without Sirius there to poke fun, Nell turned to Harry. "So why were you concerned about people dying at Hogwarts?"

Harry bit his lip and looked down at Tracey's letter. He would have preferred to speak with Nick about the situation first since the old Alchemist was much more laid back than Nell was. Not that he didn't enjoy talking to Nell about these things but just picturing her reaction made him wince internally. Sirius however, chose to take the decision out of his hands.

"Hagrid is raising a baby dragon in his hut." Sirius said and showed off his prestigious upbringing by shoving a large biscuit in his mouth, not seeming to care about the crumbs falling all over the table in front of him.

"HE WHAT?! Nell exclaimed.

Harry cleared his throat and waved the letter at her slightly. "Tracey wrote and told me that they stumbled on Hagrid yesterday with a dragon in his hut. I'm not sure how he got it but he seems determined to keep it."

Nell's head dropped into her hands and she groaned loudly. "As if there isn't enough going on, now we have a dragon to worry about too." She picked her head up and gave him a pained look. "Did she say how big it was or what kind of dragon?"

"About the size of a horse." Sirius supplied cheerfully.

"She thinks it's a Norwegian Ridgeback and his name is Norbert. It's also responsible for Blaise needing his cane." Harry said.

"We're lucky he wasn't bitten. Their fangs are quite venomous." Nell said straightening up. "I'll speak to Nick about it as soon as I get back and we will try to come up with something quick so nobody else gets hurt."

"Will Hagrid get in trouble?" Harry asked feeling guilty for tattling on his friend but glad that Nell seemed to be taking this much better than he thought she would and hoped that whatever they came up with wouldn't see Hagrid sacked.

"We will certainly try our best to keep him out of trouble Harry but it is highly illegal to breed and/or keep dragons unless they are on a dragon reserve. They cannot be tamed and can pose a threat to those around them as well as the Statute of Secrecy should they get free." Nell replied and waved her wand at the dirty dishes on the table causing them to fly to the sink and begin washing themselves. "Hagrid should have contacted the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry as soon as he came across the beast and Merlin help him if I find out he actually got the egg and hatched it instead of handing it over."

Harry was kept from saying anything further by the arrival of Sirius' surly house-elf Kreacher. Harry hadn't seen him very often during his stay but the few times he did were rather unpleasant considering Kreacher liked to mutter under his breath about how much of a filthy half-blood Harry was and unworthy of stepping foot in the Black ancestral home, among other things. Sirius had yelled at the house-elf and chased him from the room when he heard what he was saying about his godson but had then been scolded shortly after by Nell on his treatment of him and the threats he had thrown out.

Harry learned later that Kreacher had been the bane of Sirius' childhood with his continuous insults and refusal to follow any command Sirius gave him, at the express desire of his mother no doubt, and that they had hated each other for years. Apparently, that hatred had increased exponentially when Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor upon arriving at Hogwarts.

Kreacher had reluctantly accepted Sirius as his new Head of House after much grumbling and according to Remus things had been going as well as could be expected up until earlier in the week when Sirius asked Nick and Nell to take a look at his mother's portrait that was magically stuck to the wall to see if they knew of a way to remove it. They had examined it for over an hour but Nick finally told him that it had likely been placed there using a Permanent Sticking Charm and removing it would be rather difficult as the charm drew on nearby magical energy to sustain itself and the fact that it was supporting a magical painting as well as being in highly magical environment meant that the charm was as fresh as the day it was cast, if not more so.

At Nell's suggestion, Sirius had hired a magical architect to come in and determine if the section of wall she was attached to could be safely removed without weakening the houses structural integrity. As soon as the architect told him that as long as he didn't want to take out the whole wall then it would be fine, Sirius had him start on removing it right away.

Kreacher had gone into a near apoplectic rage when he came upon them all watching the removal and Sirius had had to order him to be silent to stop the obscenities and insults he was throwing out left and right to go along with the screeching that the portrait was doing. Silencing Charms didn't seem to work on old Walburga Black's portrait but when she was finally removed Sirius managed to get her to stop screaming long enough to tell her that if she behaved herself he would not destroy her.

Seeing Kreacher staring longingly at the portrait while also sending occasional glares at his godfather, Harry had suggested that maybe Sirius should let the house-elf keep it in his room. He hemmed and hawed for a bit before finally agreeing and they were in the process of determining how they would accomplish this task since Kreacher's den was much smaller than the portion of wall they had removed when Kreacher snapped his fingers and the painting came off the wall with a noise reminiscent of velcro and floated into his hands. He gave Sirius a contemptuous look before popping away with his prize.

Things settled back down after that and Sirius soon appreciated the humor in the situation once Nell pointed out that had he simply been nicer to the elf perhaps Kreacher would have volunteered the fact that he had been the one to place the portrait on the wall earlier and they might have avoided the whole mess to begin with. Seeing the wisdom in her words and the disapproval in his godson's eyes when he mistreated Kreacher, Sirius vowed to do better by him and hoped it would help in the long run, though he still didn't trust him to cook any of their meals.

They all watched as Kreacher shuffled around the kitchen, stopping every once in a while to wipe a random surface with a dirty towel and muttering under his breath the whole time before shuffling back out again without acknowledging any of them.

"He doesn't even clean anything!" Sirius said exasperatedly. "He probably made it even more dirty than it already was."

"Well, have you thought about getting another house-elf to help him out? You did say he is nearing 150. That coupled with losing the family members he was most devoted to seems to be taking a toll on him both physically and mentally." Nell said.

Sirius crossed his arms over his chest in a pout and glared at his best friend. "Moony won't let me. He said it would be good for me to learn to do things on my own."

Remus sat serenely reading the newspaper, not bothered in the slightest by Sirius' attempts to murder him with his gaze. He had merely suggested that Sirius shouldn't get a house-elf right away as it would be a good thing for him to learn basic cooking skills and how to do chores. That the drama queen misinterpreted that as never getting another house-elf wasn't his fault.

Nell nodded sagely. "That's certainly true—"

"Traitor!" Sirius exclaimed, slamming his hands down on the table but Nell was unimpressed with the outburst.

"Learning to be self sufficient is important."

"But I can't cook and Moony isn't very good at it either."

"Hey!" Remus shouted indignantly.

"See, he even agrees with me." Sirius said with a smug grin.

Nell gave him a quelling look. "We have some books that should be able to help you out." She said and her mouth quirked up in a smirk. "I think the first one you should read is _A Witches Guide to Keeping Her House Tidy_."

Remus choked on the tea he had been drinking and began coughing while trying to laugh at the same time. Harry had to go over to Remus and start slapping him on the back when it seemed like he was having trouble breathing since Sirius was looking at Nell in horror and not paying attention to the man sitting next to him.

"The title could use some work but it has all the necessary charms you need and is even followed by _A Witches Guide to Cooking for Her Family_ which has a lot of tips and tricks for beginners _._ " Nell said, unable to keep from laughing when Sirius took on a pained expression and began turning a brilliant shade of red.

"You're joking right?" Sirius asked once he got his voice working again.

"Not in the slightest. I think they would both help immensely, especially if you aren't going to be getting another house-elf."

Sirius grumbled profusely before turning to Remus. "I don't know what you're laughing about Moony, if I have to read them then so do you."

Remus quite enjoyed reading and didn't find anything wrong with this so made sure to voice his approval of the idea simply to annoy Sirius even more.

Harry made sure to give Nell his camera before she left shortly after so she could pass it on to Tracey then coerced Sirius into taking him to Diagon Alley so he could buy his friends some chocolate. He honestly didn't know how Hermione had managed to eat the large box of assorted chocolates Blaise gave her for Christmas once they had gotten back from the holidays but it wasn't even the middle of February when she started complaining that she had already run out.

Blaise had balked at hearing that since he had gone to 4 shops in order to get her as many different kinds of chocolate as he could and wound up with about 5 pounds of the stuff before he was satisfied. He finally got over it enough to say it was no wonder she was always so wound up since she must be on a constant sugar high, which promptly earned him a well placed elbow to the ribs.

As soon as they got back to the house Remus, who had insisted Sirius spend some alone time with his godson, was on them in a flash, searching for the chocolate that he knew Sirius would have gotten for him even if he had told him not to. Sirius grinned like mad as Remus searched the pockets of Sirius' robes and patted the pockets of his slacks before realizing with great consternation that his friend didn't have any chocolate on him. He was about to let out an angry growl when realization flashed in his eyes and he rounded on Harry.

Already having been warned of the Werewolf's reaction, Harry was off like a shot with Remus close behind him. Sirius' roaring laughter followed them through the house as Harry tried his best to outrun Remus but it was no use in the end and he soon found himself cornered in an upstairs sitting room.

"Wow," Harry said, panting slightly from having run up the stairs at top speed. "Sirius said you were worse than Hermione but I didn't believe him."

Remus, looking as if he had just got done taking a stroll in the park and not chased an 11 year old boy up 4 flights of stairs, grinned at him. "I will admit I have a bit of a problem when it comes to chocolate but it is one I am fully unwilling to try and do anything about."

Harry huffed out a laugh at that and dug into his left pocket for the large shrunken box of chocolate Sirius had bought for Remus, the chocolate for his own friends safely tucked away in his right pocket.

He had barely handed it over before Remus had taken his wand out to enlarge the box, open it, and pop a piece of chocolate in his mouth. Sighing in pleasure, he smiled at Harry. "I should be mad that he always ignores me when I tell him not to buy me chocolate but I can never seem to work myself up to being properly upset about it."

"At least you finally stopped complaining about it." Sirius said, walking in and nabbing a piece for himself.

The rest of the day and far into the night was spent with both Sirius and Remus telling Harry all kinds of stories about his parents from their Hogwarts days. Sirius even went so far as to act out many of them and continuously switched between characters whenever he felt like it. He had Harry in stitches the first time he chose to conjure glasses on Remus and use a Voice Modification Charm on himself before beginning to act out in a shrill voice a heated argument between his mum and dad from their fourth year.

Nick came to pick him up and take him back to Hogwarts shortly after lunch the next day so he would have time to settle back in and catch up with his friends. Harry got a kick out of seeing Blaise walk up to him with his cane but did his best to suppress his smirk when the dark-skinned boy raised it threateningly at him.

All of his friends were invited to eat dinner in Nick and Nell's quarters that night so they could go over the dragon issue.

Nick started the conversation off once they were all seated and loading their plates. "So after discussing it for some time yesterday, Nell and I decided to go straight to the Headmaster with the news about Hagrid's dragon."

He was kept from saying more by the outcries from the majority of the children.

"But Nick, won't that get Hagrid into major trouble? The Headmaster is his boss." Harry said and now felt even more guilty for ratting out his friend.

"Calm down all of you." Nick said and waited for Susan and Hannah to stop whispering vehemently to each other before speaking again. "Yes Albus is Hagrid's boss but what you don't know is that Albus Dumbledore will do anything and everything in his power to help his friend's. As we speak Alejandra Moya, the Director of a small dragon reserve based in Spain, is on her way here with some of her employees to see about taking Norbert off our hands.

"Dumbledore apparently met her when working on his discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and by a lucky happenstance, her reserve recently lost a dragon to old age. They have been looking into getting another one and according to her letter she is excited to be getting a Norwegian Ridgeback since they don't have one at the moment."

"How did they exchange letters so quickly?" Neville asked after listening to the definition of happenstance provided to all of them by Hermione. "You only told him about it yesterday."

Nick tore off a piece of his roll, dipped it in his stew, and popped it into his mouth. He chewed slowly, nearly smirking at all the anxious faces waiting for him to answer Neville's question. In the end, Nell threw her own roll at him for teasing them and he finally swallowed and said, "Albus has a Phoenix named Fawkes that is able to flash from one place to another. It is similar to our Apparition but feels less like being squeezed through a tube and more like being surrounded by a warm fire. They are also able to go anywhere in the world they wish whereas we can only Apparate a certain distance if we don't want to tire ourself out."

Nell opened her mouth to speak and all heads snapped to her. "Suffice it to say, Albus spoke to Hagrid this morning to let him know Norbert will be leaving with Director Moya at about midnight tonight. Nick also brewed up several phials of Sleeping Draught which Albus instructed Hagrid to give the dragon until they get here to try and cut back on any complications. Hagrid isn't happy about it at all of course but Albus finally convinced him it was what was best for Norbert."

"Did he mention where he got Norbert?" Hermione inquired.

"All he would say is that he won it off some man at the pub but couldn't tell us who it was." Nick answered.

"So Norbert is fast asleep right now?" Harry asked with a bit of hopefulness in his voice, he hadn't gotten to see Norbert after all.

"Well he was this morning." Nick said. "I refused to leave Hagrid's hut until he gave him the Sleeping Draught."

Seeing right away what Harry was thinking, Nell decided to nip it in the bud. "The Sleeping Draught will last about 6 hours for an adolescent dragon and we don't know for sure if Hagrid gave Norbert his next round of the potion or not so I don't think it would be a good idea to go visit."

Harry's shoulders slumped in disappointment and he jabbed his fork into a potato rather harshly before stuffing it into his mouth.

Not wanting her friend to be upset he would be missing out on seeing a dragon, Tracey spoke up without thinking. "Don't worry Harry, I got a few pictures of Norbert for you with your camera."

Nick shot her a piercing stare and she shrank down in her seat somewhat when she realized what she had said. "And just how did you manage that Miss Davis, when Nell and I specifically told all of you not to go near Hagrid's hut lest you get hurt."

Tracey couldn't very well tell them that she had barreled right into Hagrid's hut yesterday evening, startling him and the dragon, before taking a few hurried shots then bolting back out the door with Hagrid's shouts and Norbert's growls ringing in her ears so she said, as convincingly as she could, "I saw Hagrid outside doing something with some big barrels that smelled horrid and convinced him that if he took some pictures of Norbert for me then Harry would get him copies."

Seeing through the obvious lie, Nick said with steel in his voice, "That will be a foot long essay on the effects and treatment of a bite from a Norwegian Ridgeback for disobeying us Miss Davis. I hope nobody else here has plans to venture out onto the grounds tonight?"

Once her husband had gotten confirmation from everyone, Nell said. "As exciting as this has been, we must impress upon all of you the seriousness of keeping this quiet. We are skirting the law quite a bit and could all get into serious trouble if the wrong people find out so I highly recommend not even speaking about this while at school and we urge you to use the utmost discretion if you choose to talk about it at any one of your homes."

Susan bit her lip as everyone around her spoke excitedly to each other about the fact that they may be breaking the law. After her dad and uncle had been killed in the war when she was just a baby, her mum had moved into her Aunty Amy's house where Susan had grown up for the last 10 years. Obeying the law was deeply ingrained in her due to this fact, since Aunty Amy had become an Auror before she was even born, and having to keep such a thing from her aunt wasn't sitting well with her at all.

"What's the matter Susan?" Hannah asked once she realized how quiet her friend was, though she could hazard a very good guess as to what was bothering her. Aunty Amy could be right scary when she wanted to be and Hannah never fancied getting on her bad side. She was actually surprised that Hermione was as excited as the rest of them about breaking any kind of rules in general but then again, the girl had come a long way since the beginning of the school year.

"If you are worried about your aunt then please don't be Susan." Nell said and gave a smile when the young red-head raised her head to look at her. "Nick and I plan on speaking to her about this shortly after the summer holidays start so you won't have to keep it from her for very long. While I imagine she will be quite upset, I don't believe she will see fit to arrest any of us."

Susan let out a relieved sigh and was soon chatting away happily with her friends as they started on dessert.

OoOoOoO

"Alright class, we only have a month left before your end of year exams on June 1st so I think now would be a good time to assign a sort of end of year project which will actually coincide with your Potions exam." Nick said with enthusiasm and smiled slightly at the groans from his students. "I will be splitting you up into groups of two and giving each group a list of ingredients and a few key steps to make a specific potion but I will not give you the name of the potion. Based on the information I give you and using _Magical Substances and Their Reactions_ along with _1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi_ I want you to research what type of potion I assigned each of you, locate that potion in the library, and study the steps thoroughly."

The class gave him disbelieving looks at what he was asking of them. "Now now, it really won't be as bad as it sounds. All of the potions I am assigning are considered 2nd year potion level and though I made sure to choose ones not found in _Magical Drafts and Potions,_ you will be able to find them in the library. I have already spoken with Madam Pince and she has agreed not to check out any of the books that I specified so once found you will either have to copy the instructions down or stay and study in the library. You and your partner will have the full month to do your research and will be expected to brew the potion as the practical portion of your end of year exam."

Wayne Hopkins raised his hand and Nick nodded to him. "What happens if we don't manage to find the potion?"

"Well, I would be very disappointed considering I will be giving you all the tools necessary to find it but if you and your partner show up without having been able to locate the potion I will provide you with the name and complete set of steps so that you can brew it. You will however receive point deductions on your exam and may find the potion slightly more difficult to brew since you were not able to study it beforehand.

"I can see the trepidation on some of your faces but I assure you that this project really is not all that difficult. For those that have not cracked open a potions book other than your assigned textbooks, the majority of the ones you will find list the potions by their effects. For example, the Cure for Boils would be considered a healing potion so that would be the section of the book you would search for it. Study the various ingredients and their reactions to each other when using the steps I provide you and determine what type of potions you are dealing with. Finding it after that should not be that hard. Does everybody understand?"

He looked around the room and got nods from everyone so picked up a piece of parchment off of his desk. "Very good, now I would like for you all to gather your things and stand towards the back of the room. When I call out you and your partner's name I would like you to come forward and sit next to each other starting on the left hand side of the room."

Standing in the back of the room with his friends while Nick called out names, Harry realized quickly that he was partnering Hufflepuffs and Slytherins together and hoped that his guardian would be nice enough to partner him with Blaise, Daphne, or Tracey. His hopes were dashed however as time went by and one by one his friends went to sit down with someone else and then he nearly groaned out loud when he heard his name called along with Goyle.

The boys scowled at each other when they sat down at the table and waited for Nick to finish but chose not to say anything after that. The last students to be paired were Malfoy and Ernie Macmillan, causing Harry to sigh in relief since he knew that Ernie wouldn't let Malfoy walk all over him like some of the other Puffs would.

He and Goyle sat in silence as a few of the students around them began to strike up conversations with their partner and Nick began passing out sheets of parchment to each of them. When he finally got to Harry and handed them each a sheet, Harry saw that they were identical with a list of ingredients and 5 steps total for the potion they would be looking for.

"Please stay after class Mr. Potter, there is something I wish to speak with you about." Nick said and waited for Harry's response before moving to finish his task.

"Now, does anyone know what the Protean Charm is?" Nick asked as he made his way back to the front of the classroom and got nothing but blank looks in return for the question. He chuckled, "I really didn't expect you to know, I was simply curious. The Protean Charm is a charm that is capable of linking two or more objects together via a common purpose. For example, each set of parchments that I handed you are linked together using the Protean Charm and should they be more than five feet away from each other, they will automatically turn blank."

Everyone looked at their sheets of parchment with renewed interest after hearing that.

"Since I know that some of you will be averse to working with a partner or may dislike the one I have chosen for you, this will help ensure that the project is completed by both of you instead of just one. There are also a few other fun little charms I decided to place on them but I would rather keep those to myself." He admitted with a grin. Best to let them find out on their own what would happen if they attempted to get around working together. Nick knew it wasn't full proof but hoped it would assist those students whose partner felt they could do the project all on their own.

"Now, you may spend the remaining 15 minutes coordinating with your partner on when to get together to do your research. Oh and also, if I find out that you have gone to someone else to tell you the potion I will be forced to give you a new one to work on and if you do so a second time I will rescind that potion too and then you will be forced to wait until the day of the exam to find out which one you will be brewing. This project is not only to test how much you have learned throughout the year but also how well you are prepared for next year."

Harry waited a full 30 seconds to see if Goyle would be the one to break the ice between them but the large boy seemed content to just stare blankly at his parchment and hadn't moved a muscle. He really wasn't excited to have to spend the next month with the Slytherin but Harry was willing to put aside their differences in order to make sure he did well on this project. After another 15 seconds of silence, he awkwardly cleared his throat. "So, is there any specific time that you won't be able to meet?"

Goyle turned to look at him and in a voice just as deep as Harry imagined it would be, said. "Just the study group on Saturdays." He, Draco, and Vince had shunned the study group for a full 3 months before Draco finally decided to put aside his disdain for it and join in the hopes it would help his two friends, whose grades had remained at the Dreadful and Troll levels despite his best efforts to help them. Nobody but the three of them knew the real reason they had finally joined and Draco's snide remarks when asked made sure that people stopped caring soon enough.

Harry nodded. "Ok, well my schedule is a bit full throughout the week but how about we meet up in the library Tuesdays after dinner and Sundays sometime before lunch?"

"That's fine." Goyle said amicably and went back to staring at his parchment.

Rather than push his luck with the bulky Slytherin, Harry opted to read through the information Nick had given them on the potion for the remainder of the class and gave a small sigh of relief when the bell rang and Goyle left to meet up with Malfoy and Crabbe, who had been partnered with Leanne Ward; one of the top students in their class.

After realizing this, Harry went through the list of who got partnered with who and came to the conclusion that Nick had made sure to partner those students who weren't as good in potions with those that were. ' _He probably just wants to make sure the students like Crabbe and Goyle had a chance to earn a good grade while promoting house unity, even if it might put the better student at a bit of a disadvantage._ ' Thought Harry.

His suspicions were confirmed a few minutes later when he went up to speak with Nick, which made him beam in delight since that meant that Nick thought he was a good enough student to overcome Goyle's shortcomings in potions. Suffice it to say that Harry felt much better about the partnership when he left the potions classroom to make his way to lunch.


End file.
